Creative Industries

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

As well as a rich industrial and political heritage, Newport has a vibrant community of creatives and creative industries, so it is good to have the opportunity to highlight them in Government time and, later on, to shamelessly plug some of the local bands that I like.

Creative businesses in Newport generate a not insignificant turnover of around £400 million annually. Those 555 businesses employ more than 5,000 people locally, and that does not even account for the number of talented freelancers. Many of these enterprises are microbusinesses—small but mighty, much like Newport—and together they form the lifeblood of our grassroots arts and culture scene and give future performers the space and opportunity to develop.

Newport is home to an extraordinary wealth of talent, from theatre practitioners and visual artists to community connectors—people who dedicate themselves to bringing arts and culture to life in our city. We have local champions such as John Hallam from Maindee Unlimited, Loren Henry of Urban Circle, George Harris of Tin Shed Theatre, and Juls Benson of Reality Theatre, among many others. For years, they have worked to ensure that access to the creative industries in Newport is inclusive. An example of that is the brilliant Operasonic, which is supporting a band formed by the city’s Roma community called Newport Boys.

It is not just about live performance. Thanks to our striking industrial and natural landscapes, and our distinctive architecture, Newport has become a veritable filming hotspot in the UK. For more than two decades, it has been a familiar backdrop for “Doctor Who”, and Newport was recently showcased in the new S4C series “Ar y Ffin”. Newport is prominently featured in ITV’s “Out There” and Netflix’s “Sex Education”. Supporting those productions are state-of-the-art studios such as Urban Myth and Studio Arth, both located in my constituency, where global streaming projects are being created all the time. The Minister mentioned the talent pipeline, and much work is being done to develop and find the many skills we need locally in this industry.

Any contribution about Newport’s creative industries would not be complete without celebrating our music scene, which has seen a remarkable renaissance. That fact was recently recognised by the NME. I was delighted to join Sam Dabb and the team at Le Pub to celebrate the building’s purchase, with help from the UK Government, by Music Venue Properties. That was set up by the Music Venue Trust, which launched its annual report here last week. For more than three decades, Le Pub has stood as the cornerstone of Newport’s music culture, and it is great that it has been safeguarded for future generations as a space to grow new bands. Bands that have emerged from Le Pub recently include the brilliant Bug Club, hailing from Monmouthshire, alongside Newport’s own Murder Club, The Rogues, Joe Kelly & the Royal Pharmacy, Failstate, Jack Perrett and many others. There is also a new generation of artists, such as a new band called Hairdye, who are getting much attention. Newport is fortunate to have many other grassroots venues, including McCann’s, The Cab and the volunteer-led Corn Exchange, all of which will be part of the upcoming Newport music trail, a free two-day festival in the city centre in March.

Newport is, indeed, a cultural powerhouse, but to ensure that it continues to thrive, we must ensure that this cultural renaissance in our city is not just celebrated, but supported. I am therefore pleased that the Government, along with the Welsh Government and Newport city council, recognise the importance of the creative industries as a driver of economic growth and social wellbeing. In the draft budget this year, the Welsh Government are committed to supporting the hospitality sector with 40% non-domestic rates relief. That builds on the £1 billion of support allocated to retail, hospitality and leisure rates relief schemes since 2020. We also should not forget the additional 25% rates relief that Newport council offers to help eligible small venues and businesses.

Increased funding opportunities to support grassroots organisations and venues will only help them flourish further. The £1 ticket levy for arena and big gig events to support small music venues will have a big impact, and I welcome the Minister’s commitment to making that mandatory if the live events industry does not do it voluntarily. Working to tear down the barriers to touring will also be crucial for the continued success not just of British performers and their art, but of our talented sound engineers and the haulage industry. An update on that work was much welcome.

With the right investment and a Government who truly understand the untapped potential of our world-leading creative industries, we can continue to build on that success and secure Newport’s creative legacy for generations to come. I look forward to welcoming the Minister to Newport whenever he can come.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

The Chancellor’s statement last week, which was the first proper Budget in 17 long and chaotic months, reflected the unacceptable reality of 13 years of Conservative failure, with growth downgraded, wages lower now in real terms than they were in 2010, the highest tax burden on households since the second world war and, over the last two years, the biggest hit to living standards since records began. Constituents reflect this, such as the resident in Newport East who said to me last week:

“Last year for my gas I was topping up £20 a week, now it’s over double that. I’m not sure what I am supposed to do. I cannot afford to live.”

Last week’s Budget said nothing to her, and nothing to all those struggling with the cost of living crisis or the £11,000 hit since 2010 due to stagnant wages, which was so ably outlined earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell). There was no redress for my constituent whose plans for retirement this year were ruined by last autumn’s disastrous mini-Budget, which wiped out a substantial amount of her pension. Politics may have moved on, but our constituents are still paying for the economic carnage caused by the Conservative party in that mini-Budget, including homeowners, with average interest rates on outstanding mortgages now twice as high as forecast two years ago.

It is notable that the Chancellor did find time for one permanent tax cut in the Budget—the £1 billion tax reduction for the richest 1% of earners via changes to pension allowances. It is an outrageous tax giveaway for the rich, while millions of older people on modest incomes will find themselves paying more tax because of the six-year freeze on personal allowances. It is a clear reminder that whichever Tory Chancellor sits in No. 11 Downing Street—and we have had a few in recent years—the same skewed sense of priorities remains.

One of the themes of today’s debate is innovation, which is at the core of our steel industry, including at Llanwern steelworks in my constituency of Newport East. That the word “steel” did not feature once in the Chancellor’s statement or the Budget document itself speaks volumes. It proves that, despite the Chancellor fleetingly using the phrase “industrial strategy” last week, this Government do not have one. We have a Business Secretary who, when asked whether Britain should offer steelmaking capacity in the future, carelessly said that “nothing is ever a given”, and we have a Chancellor —well, a succession of Chancellors—unwilling to go as far as European counterparts in supporting our steel sector on the crucial issue of decarbonisation. The German and French Governments have already spent billions of euros and committed even more towards greening their domestic steel sectors, while there have been other ambitious investments in green steel in Canada, Belgium and Sweden. UK Steel highlights that a lack of similar capital funding for decarbonisation in Britain is making our steel industry unattractive for investors. We will await further details from the support pledge for carbon capture, utilisation and storage. There was no information last week on where or when this will be spent, but we clearly need an improvement on the current infrastructure fund.

On industrial energy costs, Make UK has noted that the Budget does little to tackle the real and very immediate threat that manufacturers face with rocketing energy bills far higher than their European competitors. It is no surprise that UK steelmakers will stump up a whopping 63% more than their German counterparts for electricity in 2023. The recent announcements at Liberty Steel show just how serious this issue is.

I mentioned the impact of energy costs on steel businesses, but the same is true in other sectors, including hospitality. At last week’s meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on hospitality, events and major food and drink businesses in Wales, we heard from hoteliers and publicans how their businesses have been effectively locked into contracts agreed at a time of very high energy costs last year, before the fall in wholesale prices. They want the Government to make it easier for customers to withdraw from expensive energy contracts signed during the chaos of 2022.

Rising energy prices are also having an acute impact on the hospice and home care sector, as my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Bambos Charalambous) mentioned. Many hospices are facing up to fivefold increases in their energy costs. For these vital facilities, reducing energy consumption is simply not an option. Hospice UK recently met Ministers to put those points across. It called for increased support beyond the energy bills discount scheme, but that call appears not to have been heard. I ask Ministers to look at that again with the sector.

Finally, the Budget confirmed that the 2023-24 settlement for Wales is £900 million lower in real terms than was projected at the time of the 2021 spending review, with no extra funding made available for health, social services or local government. There is a derisory £1 million extra in capital funding for Wales in 2024-25. The Welsh Government are right to point out that while the UK Tory Government talked up a Budget for growth, in reality they have shown no interest in building a way out of the current financial crisis. We deserve better than a Government that will keep on bumping us along a path of managed decline.