Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of the creative industries to economic growth.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The creative industries sector is one of eight growth-driving sectors identified in the government’s Industrial Strategy. We will publish a Creative Industries Sector Plan to drive growth in the late spring.
Creative industries GVA grew at 1.5 times the rate of UK GVA between 2010 and 2023 (35.4% vs 22.3%).
In 2023, the sector employed 2.4m people, and contributed £124bn in UK GVA, more than 5% of total UK GVA. In the 2024 Global Innovation Index the UK ranked third for creative outputs.
The government is committed to tackling barriers to growth, including skills shortages and gaps, to drive growth in the sector and across the economy.
At the Creative Industries Growth Summit in January, the Secretary of State announced West Yorkshire as a priority region for the Creative Industries, and one of six Mayoral Combined Authorities to receive additional funding to be approved as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Businesses in West Yorkshire, including in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency, are able to benefit from support from DCMS and its arms-length bodies. This includes through the £3m Creative Careers Programme, which provides schoolchildren with information, advice, and guidance on creative career paths, and the £28.4m Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses to scale up and become investment ready.
The Arts Council England 2023-2026 Investment Programme is also investing £444m each year into arts and culture in England and is providing around £22m per year to cultural organisations in the Yorkshire and The Humber region.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support creative industries in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The creative industries sector is one of eight growth-driving sectors identified in the government’s Industrial Strategy. We will publish a Creative Industries Sector Plan to drive growth in the late spring.
Creative industries GVA grew at 1.5 times the rate of UK GVA between 2010 and 2023 (35.4% vs 22.3%).
In 2023, the sector employed 2.4m people, and contributed £124bn in UK GVA, more than 5% of total UK GVA. In the 2024 Global Innovation Index the UK ranked third for creative outputs.
The government is committed to tackling barriers to growth, including skills shortages and gaps, to drive growth in the sector and across the economy.
At the Creative Industries Growth Summit in January, the Secretary of State announced West Yorkshire as a priority region for the Creative Industries, and one of six Mayoral Combined Authorities to receive additional funding to be approved as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Businesses in West Yorkshire, including in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency, are able to benefit from support from DCMS and its arms-length bodies. This includes through the £3m Creative Careers Programme, which provides schoolchildren with information, advice, and guidance on creative career paths, and the £28.4m Create Growth Programme, which supports high-growth creative businesses to scale up and become investment ready.
The Arts Council England 2023-2026 Investment Programme is also investing £444m each year into arts and culture in England and is providing around £22m per year to cultural organisations in the Yorkshire and The Humber region.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on routes into the creative sector for young people in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) works closely with the Department for Education (DfE) on skills policy affecting the creative sector. This includes understanding routes into the sector for young people across the country, such as apprenticeships. As part of the DfE’s work on Growth and Skills Levy reform, new shorter apprenticeships will be available from August 2025 (subject to the legislative timetable) as a first step towards a more flexible levy.
In West Yorkshire in particular, Bradford and Kirklees have been priority areas for the Creative Careers Programme, which is designed to raise young people’s awareness of creative careers and pathways into them by providing specialist advice and information. By providing £3 million to expand the programme, DCMS will continue to boost opportunities and support for young people from backgrounds that are under-represented in the creative sector.
The Secretary of State visited Bradford in September last year for the programme launch of UK City of Culture 2025, which included speaking to members of the Bradford 2025 Youth Panel. Bradford 2025's work with young people, including an apprenticeship scheme, is encouraging the next generation of creatives with 6,000 training opportunities expected across the district. Arts Council England also provides funding to a range of organisations in West Yorkshire that supports the creative education provision for its children and young people, including In Harmony Opera North and Northern Ballet, which offer pathways into music and dance.
At the Creative Industries Growth Summit in January, the Secretary of State announced West Yorkshire as a priority region for the Creative Industries, and one of six Mayoral Combined Authorities to receive additional funding to be approved as part of the upcoming Spending Review.