Creative Industries

Nesil Caliskan Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Nesil Caliskan (Barking) (Lab)]

It has been a pleasure to listen to speeches from Members right across the Chamber, and particularly to hear—as others have said—insights rooted in the particular musical and literary talents of Members. Sadly, I have zero contribution to make in terms of talent; I can inform Members that I have regularly enjoyed the outputs of music on many a dance floor, particularly during my student days, but that is as far as my talents will take me. I also want to acknowledge the powerful points made about AI—it is a complicated picture, and will be an important continuing debate.

That will be incredibly important as we consider the creative industries as one of Britain’s success stories. They are some of our most successful exports and biggest growth opportunities—a way of projecting our soft power across the world, as other Members have said. The creative industries add £120 billion in value to our economy, and have grown by 35% since 2010. Economically, those industries are an important area for debate, accounting for one in seven jobs in the country.

That success has taken place despite inaction from the Government of the past. In recent years, the investment per person that allows people to access those creative cultural experiences has fallen by 50% in real terms, and funding for the arts and cultural organisations has fallen by 18% in the past 14 years. As my hon. Friend the Member for Luton South and South Bedfordshire (Rachel Hopkins) referenced, £1 billion was cut from local authorities. Those cuts have undoubtedly had a generational impact on the young people who lost out on opportunities to experience cultural activities.

As a London MP and an ex-London council leader, I can tell the House that even in the cultural hub that is London—the best city in the world for cultural activity, some might say—many communities, including those I represent in Barking and Dagenham, do not have access to creativity, be that dance or music lessons, going to the theatre or cinema trips. That is why access programmes, including for my constituents in Barking, are so important —access to jobs and opportunities within the industry, and to enjoy more forms of art and culture, the art and culture that my communities in Barking and Dagenham so often refer to as their inspiration.

Local authorities are leading the way in establishing and supporting creative industries to help to grow their local economy, provide new opportunities for those who need them and encourage more access to the arts. It is important to welcome the activities that local authorities up and down the country have engaged in even when they have been under so much pressure. When I was a council leader, I worked towards the transformation of an industrial site from a poorly used employment space to a film studio owned by the local authority and leased to a film company based in Hollywood, used for films featuring actors from across the world. That was not unique to the area I represented at the time; as I say, councils across the country are doing such things.

As the Member of Parliament for Barking, I am so proud that in Barking and Dagenham, Welbeck Wharf—originally a steel distribution site, bought by the local authority and leased to The Wharf Studios—is home to the largest new film studio in 25 years. Since 2022, the council has worked with the studios to tackle the skills gap in the borough, which is significant, and the diversity gap in the film industry. The studios have engaged with local schools and colleges and provided new training and job opportunities. More than 1,000 pupils have been given hands-on experience in skills such as lighting, camera work, production and make-up, and many local people have been employed in filming in the borough. More than 1,000 residents have attended free screening events, providing access to new culture and arts in a way that simply would not have been possible before.

I am particularly excited that the world-famous Tate gallery and the borough of Barking and Dagenham have reached agreement on a new memorandum of understanding that could see a new Tate collection open in Barking Riverside, and I put on record my support for that proposal. Such investment in the area I represent will make a huge contribution to Barking and Dagenham. In many instances, success is the result of private and public partnerships. I know that the sector welcomes the Government’s £60 million investment in the creative industries, as well as its core part in the new industrial strategy.

I am concerned about reports that most tax relief—around half for film production and 75% for TV production —goes to those that make the very largest claims. In fact, according to HMRC data, half of the total film relief claimed went to just 15 companies. That is why I welcome the new relief that the Government have announced for smaller, independent film productions. I think it will make a real difference to areas that want more films to be made, and that want the cultural industries to contribute to the local economy. The growth of creative industries in the UK will contribute to our economy, in part because of the international investment they attract. As that investment takes place and as the creative industries benefit from tax breaks, however, local communities such as those I represent in Barking and Dagenham must benefit from that economic vibrancy. They must benefit from jobs and skills opportunities, and we should hold the creative industries to account for that.

In 2017, my constituency featured heavily in the music charts, thanks to rapper Ramz’s debut single “Barking”—I am not going to sing it—which included the lyrics

“I might link my ting from Barking.”

That was one of the things that made me instantly slightly cooler when I was selected to be the candidate for Barking at the general election. I hope that as the Government, business and local authorities continue to foster creative industries, Barking will feature not only in the music charts, but in award-winning cinema and other outputs from those industries. They make an incredible contribution to our economy, and residents in Barking and Dagenham can benefit from a Government who are supportive of the creative industries.