Supporting the Creative Economy

Debate between Helen Goodman and Baroness Bray of Coln

Thursday 13th February 2014 Westminster Hall

[Angie Bray (Ealing Central and Acton) (Con)]

The debate is important. It is clear that we need this opportunity to discuss the Government’s response to the Select Committee’s report on the shape of the creative industries in the UK. Our recommendations focus on how we can harness our extraordinary success and growth in the field, while ensuring that that welcome development is not compromised by any failure to tackle crucial issues such as copyright infringement. The UK has cemented its reputation in recent years as a leading light in the creative world, a place where talent in the creative industries is nurtured and allowed to develop and thrive, backed up by wide-ranging financial support and a sympathetic tax system. As a result, we are a destination on the film-maker’s map. We are a place to go to make films, where a director can come from abroad with the smallest of crews, because he or she can call on superb local technical talent to direct and produce, and where he or she can source some of the finest acting and musical talent. All that creative skill, know-how and nous boosts the Treasury’s coffers by nearly £40 billion a year.

I am lucky and proud to have a fantastic example of the recent renewed success of our creative economy on my doorstep in Ealing studios, the world’s best known and oldest continuously running film production studios. They showcase great British talent with, among other things, some of the “Downton Abbey” sets and the stunning Imaginarium studios, which use performance capture technology under the direction of one of our best exports, Andy Serkis. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently paid a visit to see for himself the success story sitting at the heart of Ealing. He was keen to find out that the view of what the Treasury is doing is positive, and it is. The message that he got was that the film tax relief, the extension of which he announced in the autumn statement, is turning the UK into one of the most popular film locations.

The Select Committee had in mind the question of what more might be done when we took the fascinating evidence sessions for our report on the creative economy. We carried out work here in London and on our Committee trip to the United States. The aim throughout was to get to the bottom of how we might best protect the livelihoods of the people and businesses that make such a massive contribution to our economy, and how we might help them to grow still further.

Several of the issues that we raised in our report stand out as being particularly important for the growth of our creative industries. The most significant, as other hon. Members have said, is the need to stand up for intellectual property rights in an ever-changing and increasingly challenging environment. The modern internet dictates most people’s daily movements, and it is all about accessing as much information as possible and sharing it as easily as possible. If proper protections are not put in place for those who create, we will not get much more creation. As those protections get weaker, the chances of proper recompense diminish, which is hardly an incentive to carry on creating. A critical balance must be found and maintained between free access and property rights, but the Government’s feedback on our report is not encouraging on that point.

That difficult subject provided the basis of our discussions when we visited film studios in Los Angeles, which are also battling with issues relating to copying and piracy. Whenever technology moves on, piracy moves with it, and it is always a problem. Creators need certainty that the Government will protect the principle that the right people must be rewarded properly. The danger, as I think is apparent in the Government’s response, is that standards may slip. For instance, when we met the chief executive of Fox, he spoke about his concern over plans to legalise the copying of audio-visual material on to other formats, which is illegal at the moment but everyone does it. Organisations such as Fox are well aware of that, but they choose to do very little about it, essentially because it is too difficult. He underlined the point that any change in the law that recognises the right to copy would be a slippery slope. That law may be rarely applied, but it serves an important purpose in limiting abuse. Meanwhile, he and others are working on legal mechanisms that would allow copying on to different formats but would still allow due financial reward for the creators. Unfortunately, the Government’s response suggests that they have no intention of listening to that message.

The name that always crops up in debates such as this is Google, as we have heard today. I wonder whether there is anyone here who does not spend a great deal of their time using Google to find any amount of easy-to-access information. There is a darker side, however, which is a major concern to those who worry about intellectual property rights. In providing easy-to-access information for nothing, Google’s search engine can take users through to sites that breach copyright regulations. Google told us that, wherever possible, it takes such offending sites down. It is hampered, however, by the many millions of pages that must be trawled through. The BPI alone sends Google well in excess of 2 million notices per month relating to individual pages on sites guilty of copyright infringement. Again, Google says that in many cases the pages are contained on sites that otherwise host legal content, making it difficult to take action. My view and that of my colleagues on the Select Committee is that that is a pretty flimsy excuse. It is not beyond the wit of Google and its engineers to devise proper solutions. It can certainly afford to do so.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady makes a good point. When sites are found by the courts to be providing material that has not been paid for, Google is able to take action. Does that not demonstrate that it has the technological capacity to which she is referring?

[Angie Bray]

The hon. Lady makes a reasonable point, and I tend to agree with her.

There are many ways in which to provide a balance to help everyone. The Hargreaves report recommended the establishment of a digital copyright exchange, which got expanded into a copyright hub, set up in July 2013. The key point about it is that anyone may access it online to find out anything about the complexities of copyright and about who owns what rights. The idea was also to make licensing arrangements easier with a one-stop shop.

Our Committee has made plain its firm support for the establishment of a global repertoire database, based in the UK, making us a global centre for copyright exchanges. We remain of the view, however, that participation in a copyright exchange should preferably be voluntary.

It would be childish of me not to mention some areas in which the Government are showing a remarkable and positive lead in promoting and nurturing our home-grown creative industries. As I said earlier, the Chancellor has demonstrated his commitment and delighted the film and vision-effects industries with another dollop of tax relief, meaning that big-budget productions will get the same 25% tax relief that smaller firms already enjoy for the first £20 million that they spend. He has also widened the criteria for those who can apply for the relief.

All that is a huge encouragement to film makers to make their movies in the UK, thereby investing often considerable sums here. It is clear that such relief easily more than pays for itself. Other beneficiaries of the new points system, which will adjudicate the recipients, will be those who work in special and visual effects, again where the UK excels. We look forward to the Government’s introducing video games tax relief as soon as possible as well.

By the way, an interesting suggestion was put to us by Fox as a way of illustrating the economic value to countries and local communities of providing locations for film production. The idea would be to include in the opening credits of films some brief information about the economic benefits and job opportunities as a consequence of the film being made in a given location.

The Committee has expressed concerns, as we have heard repeatedly this afternoon, about the downgrading of arts subjects in the curriculum, although the Government have responded by stating that a key measurement of a school’s performance will continue to include art, design and music. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Damian Collins), who suggested that extending school hours would provide an opportunity for schools, which are perhaps sending children home at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, to introduce more arts, drama and music.

I put on record that one of my local schools, Twyford, has an excellent record in music. Indeed, I saw some of its members playing with the English Chamber Orchestra only last night. Some state schools still take arts and music seriously, but I want to see longer hours meaning that there is more opportunity, because we have to widen such opportunities. I have noticed recently that people have noted the fact that so many public school people are becoming the big names as actors and actresses, because they get the drama opportunities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Helen Goodman]

I am sorry to disappoint the Minister, but a lot of the money was put into those initiatives by the regional development agencies. He needs to talk more to his colleagues in other Whitehall Departments, because those self-same big cities are seeing the biggest reductions in funding in their local government settlements. The reduction in Liverpool is somewhere between 30% and 60%, and the picture is similar in Gateshead and Manchester. He should be less complacent about the situation faced by the creative sectors beyond London. He cannot get away from giving the impression that the Government are not developing creative industries across the entire country because they are staying within their comfort zone.

[Angie Bray]

rose—

[Helen Goodman]

I will not take any further interventions on this point; otherwise, the debate will deteriorate in tone, and I would not want that to happen during my speech.

I was pleased by the Select Committee Chairman’s remarks on film tax credits. I never expected to hear Government Members praise tax credits, but there we have it; he has done so, at least for the film sector. I reiterate his request to the Minister: it would be good if the Minister brought us up to speed on his negotiations with the European Union. I also wholeheartedly agree with what the Select Committee said on education and skills:

“The broader arts curriculum has been seriously hit by the Government’s approach to performance measurement...The danger remains that schools will in practice see a continued diminution in the provision of dance, drama and other creative subjects.”

My hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson), who is doing an excellent job as chair of the all-party group on art, craft and design in education, made a well-informed and telling speech. Since 2010, there has been a 14% drop in the number of children taking arts subjects at GCSE. We must incorporate arts into the curriculum at the same level as other subjects. I cannot do better than quote a letter from my constituent, Jonathan Carney. He is head of visual arts and photography at Redcar academy and, in preparation for this debate, he wrote to me, saying:

“I am very concerned that the current disincentives to study arts subjects in schools will have a serious impact on the pipeline of UK workers in to employment in the Creative Industries and more broadly on our children’s ability to compete in the global jobs market. Employers look for well-balanced, well-rounded individuals who are capable of expressing themselves and thinking creatively.”

We would all agree with that; none of us could have put it better. One thing that is a bit worrying about the Secretary of State for Education’s approach is that he seems to think that those subjects are not intellectually rigorous. Has he not met an architect or listened to a jazz pianist? Of course those subjects are as intellectually rigorous as mathematics, Latin grammar and English literature. It is patently absurd to think that rigour is only in one part of the curriculum and not in another.

I hope that the Minister will go back to his colleagues in the Department for Education and reinforce the message that is coming from across the sectors. Everywhere I go, the one complaint I get that is common across the board, whether in theatre, music or museums, is about the narrowing of the curriculum.

I also want to take up with the Minister his remarks about music hubs. I do not think those are performing as intended. We hear many reports, particularly from the Musicians’ Union, of the undermining of music services, and of the fact that the music hubs are not making up for local authorities’ loss of direct funding as a result of reductions by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Once again, the Minister is too roseate in his picture of what is going on in the world.

Finally, I also agree with the Committee about the Creative Industry Council and the need for the Minister to go to the council’s meetings. Surely it is not too much to ask Ministers to go to their own meetings. However, the Committee might have looked more at two issues. One is geographical spread, which we have discussed; I will not go over that ground again. The other is the importance of widening access and opportunities to work in the cultural industries. That is partly about education, and it is partly a justice issue. These are good, fun jobs that people want, and it will not be satisfactory if, to borrow George Orwell’s phrase, they become of the preserve of

“the lower-upper-middle class”.

However, just as importantly, the arts need these people. The arts need the widest pool of talent.

I will give an example. I was talking to the director of one of our major dance companies, and he said that, to be frank, he did not need any more middle-class girls from the home counties coming into his theatre. When the company got boys from ethnic minorities in east London, they brought a lot more energy and innovation to the theatre. That is really positive and really great. We must have a much bigger picture of what is possible for people.

The Minister’s response to the Committee’s report is a bit disappointing. We do not want a global race to the bottom, with a few multi-millionaires and thousands of unpaid interns. The Opposition believe that creative Britain can do better than that.