Creative Industries: Creating Jobs and Productivity Growth

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, this has indeed been an uplifting and enjoyable debate. We are all very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, for bringing it before us, not least for the opportunity to hear three such excellent maiden speeches from our new colleagues. I had the pleasure of getting to know the noble Lord, Lord Brennan of Canton, when he was in another place and sat on the DCMS Select Committee there. In fact, I appeared in front of him and his colleagues when I was a minister. He asked me then about the Salisbury–Addison convention, if I remember, which I am sure will serve him well now he sees it from the other House of Parliament. As we heard, he is also one-quarter of the parliamentary band MP4. Another of his colleagues, my colleague Sir Greg Knight, stood down at the last election, so I was pleased to hear that he is already thinking about a lordly equivalent. I hope that he finds a drummer, but even if he does not, he will have heard plenty of people who are keen to bang the drum for the creative industries in our debate today.

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

There is more coming, I am afraid.

I was also glad to hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Griffin of Princethorpe, who spoke powerfully about her experience in the European Parliament, which she will bring to scrutinising legislation here in your Lordships’ House, not least on the important issue of remuneration for artists and copyright. I understand that, because of a medical appointment, she is unable to be here to receive the praise that she deserves for her excellent maiden speech. She may have had to make it from a sedentary position, but it is very clear that she has already found her feet in your Lordships’ House, and we look forward to hearing more from her.

[A noble Lord]

You are on a roll.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Quite. I had the pleasure of knowing the noble Lord, Lord Lemos, when I was at DCMS through his work as chairman of English Heritage, which is a brilliant custodian of so much of our inheritance in this country and our scheduled monuments. One of my happiest memories as Minister was attending what was billed, rightly, as not just the restoration but the reawakening of Belsay Hall in Northumberland and celebrating the work that he and his colleagues had overseen there. It is a pleasure to have him here among us in your Lordships’ House. As his speech showed, he is a man of many interests and many areas of expertise. I particularly look forward to his ongoing contributions on heritage and the arts. I am glad that he will be able to keep a particularly close eye on the 14th-century Jewel Tower, part of the Palace of Westminster that survived the fire of 1834 and is now in the care of English Heritage, just across the road from Peers Entrance.

The noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, was a passionate champion for all these sectors in her roles in the Opposition in the previous Parliament. We heard that again today in her powerful and eloquent opening speech. I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Londesborough, who mentioned that the original, longer form of the title pointed rightly to the opportunity for growth in every part of the country. The noble Baroness spoke powerfully for God’s own country of Yorkshire, but I was pleased to hear her mention Whitley Bay.

Indeed, there were a few mentions of the north-east of England, which hosted the growth summit at which the Secretary of State spoke last month, at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year. I was pleased that at that summit the Secretary of State announced the recipients of the fourth round of funding from the cultural development fund, which was something that began in the previous Parliament. I was delighted to see that the centre for writing in Newcastle will be one of the recipients, building on the proud literary heritage of my native city.

The noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, and others spoke about the importance of the City of Culture programme and the wonderful opportunity that Bradford has this year to showcase its arts, heritage and all the new things that one of the country’s youngest cities is doing. I agree with her that all should visit and enjoy what it has in store.

When I saw the Motion, I worried that the creative industries are often narrowly defined. Even within DCMS, there is sometimes a gulf between the creative industries and the arts. It was wonderful to hear not just the noble Baroness but others talking about the performing arts, libraries, our heritage and so much more. As the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, is always reminding us, they are so intimately interconnected that we need them all. That point came through from so many noble Lords’ speeches.

I was pleased, too, to hear my noble friend Lord Harlech speaking up for the fashion industry and the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, talking about advertising. They are areas that often do not get quite as much attention. From architecture to publishing to computer games, there are so many areas in these isles that we should be proud of and seek to champion.

There were many areas of agreement. The creative industries were one of five priority areas for the Chancellor in the previous Government and they are one of the priority areas for our new Chancellor. We had a creative industry sector vision, and there is now a creative industry sector plan. Where we see things in that with which we agree, we will support them wholeheartedly. Like the noble Viscount, Lord Chandos, I was delighted that the Government have recommitted themselves to the tax credits. As the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, has reminded us before, we owe much to not just Gordon Brown but Margaret Thatcher and previous Governments. It is wonderful to see them being extended, and my noble friend Lady Penn talked powerfully about the impact that they can have. We look forward to working with the Government and scrutinising their work on helping artists on touring and on broadening the curriculum and helping young people of all backgrounds to take up the life-changing opportunities of the arts.

I was pleased to see the noble Baroness, Lady Vadera, take up a role with the Creative Industries Council and the noble Baroness, Lady Hodge, reviewing Arts Council England. I look forward to welcoming Thangam Debbonaire when she is introduced as a noble Baroness. It is wonderful that we have so many rich voices, including the three we have heard today, adding to our debates in your Lordships’ House.

I was pleased about the establishment of the Soft Power Council but, like the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, I am worried about the reports that I have seen about the British Council and its finances. He asked some very good questions there. I wonder, if it is indeed thinking of selling off some of the artworks in its collection, whether one option might be to look at the acceptance in lieu scheme so that they could be donated to the state in lieu of tax but not lost from the public collection? I wonder whether the noble Baroness will take that idea back to the department to discuss it with her colleagues and those at the Foreign Office.

Where there are things with which we disagree, as the Opposition, we will point them out. I must pick up points that the noble Lord, Lord Londesborough, and others raised about decisions that were taken in the Budget, not least on national insurance contributions. They are making the lives of creative organisations and small businesses, which often operate on very small margins, all the harder. I hope that the Government will look at the impact that their decisions are having on these businesses, which are struggling and which do so much good work looking after things on our behalf.

Earlier this week, my colleagues in the shadow team and I had a meeting with the Historic Houses association. These are small businesses, often families, which run houses for the enjoyment of everybody, supporting some 32,000 jobs and 330 apprenticeships and generating more than £1.3 billion for the UK economy. They are often the biggest employers in their rural areas, and decisions that make employment more expensive have a knock-on effect not just on their business but on the opportunities of young people in these often isolated areas.

I will pick up on the comments that other noble Lords have made about the implications of the Budget for grass-roots music venues, which are so important to the pipeline of talent that we enjoy. Last year, grass-roots music venues staged some 162,000 live events. We want to see many more in more parts of the country.

I began this week at Tate Britain, with the art funder Nesta, at an event called Mini Wonders about early years intervention and the role that museums and galleries can play. As noble Lords have discussed, skills start right at the beginning.

The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, mentioned the closure of university arts departments. I was pleased to see that Glassworks: Sunderland has been awarded some money from the cultural development fund. There is a national glass centre there already, which has been working with the University of Sunderland. The Education Secretary sits for a constituency in that city. I know that the vice-chancellor of the university has been advising the Government. There is a building there and a facility which was built only 25 years ago with public investment. This is a lesson to us about investment and the pressing capital needs of our cultural estate. We must make sure that we are investing in what we already have, as well as stimulating new activity.

On technology and AI, the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, was right to highlight the importance of human endeavour. The noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, spoke of the threat to quality programming, especially for children. The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, pointed to some of the many downsides. I know he will remain vigilant.

I wonder whether the Minister has had discussions with her colleagues at the Foreign Office about funding to the World Service, to make sure that its trusted and impartial voices can continue to be heard at the time when they are needed.

Noble Lords raised many important points, particularly in relation to freelancers and the workforce, about making sure that the arts are an attractive and viable career for people of all backgrounds. They listed a number of areas where small changes could make a big difference. The noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, gave a number of examples relating to craftspeople. I have previously raised small changes, such as designating St Pancras as a CITES port, which would help. I wonder whether the Minister has seen the Scene Change report by the National Theatre, which sets out innovative ideas on exploring business model innovations in the arts.

It is clear from all the contributions, including those from our three new colleagues, that your Lordships’ House is brimming with ideas to help us continue to support these vital and thriving sectors of our economy. I am very grateful to noble Lords for their contributions.