Creative Industries: Creating Jobs and Productivity Growth

Viscount Chandos Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Chandos (Lab)]

My Lords, we are all grateful to my noble friend Lady Thornton for securing this debate and for her powerful introduction to it. I also congratulate my three noble friends who have held their premieres today so impressively—not so much a maiden over as a hat-trick, to mix my sectoral analogies. I draw the House’s attention to my interests in the register, specifically in this context as vice-chair of LAMDA, a director of RSMB, chair of the Theseus Agency and an adviser to WFO Services. One of my sons is also a screenwriter.

Speaking near the end of this stimulating debate, I am reminded how strongly the desire to support and grow the creative industries is shared on all sides of the House. I welcome, for instance, the continuity embraced by the new Labour Government in areas such as independent film tax credit, as well as the decision not to reduce tax relief for museums, galleries and orchestras that the previous Government had envisaged. The deep talent pool in the UK is the key factor in attracting investment and production, but stability of the fiscal rules, as the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, said, is also vital and those should be at internationally competitive levels.

That talent pool is founded on the outstanding education and training provided in the UK, whether through conservatoires or apprenticeships, and I welcome the initiative of my right honourable friend the DCMS Secretary of State to change apprenticeship rules to more easily relate to the timescale of individual film or television productions.

I will use the remainder of my time to talk about the vital importance of the development of film and television studios, particularly outside London and the south-east. The boom in the past 15 years in high-end television drama resulting from the growth of global streaming services, alongside the continuing high levels of feature film production, exposed a shortage of capacity in studios. Even if there has been some additional capacity built and some moderation in levels of production recently, the long-term requirement for quality studio space and related services is likely to remain high.

I therefore welcome the decision of my right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister to call in the Marlow Film Studios project, turned down by Buckinghamshire Council. I am also watching with interest the progress of the planning application for the Camden Film Quarter—200 yards from my flat in Kentish Town. The concentration of film and television jobs in London and the south-east referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Londesborough, should drive us, however strong the effect of cluster theory may be, to do everything possible to create vibrant and viable clusters throughout the whole of the UK.

One such opportunity is the Digbeth Loc. Studios project in Birmingham, driven relentlessly over many years by Steve Knight, the creator and writer of “Peaky Blinders” and most recently of “Maria”, whose deeply touching portrayal of Maria Callas is a vivid demonstration of the interconnection between different art forms—highly recommended even for those who are not opera lovers. “MasterChef” has already built its new home on the Digbeth site, and the “Peaky Blinders” feature film was shot there, using the great Victorian warehouses. The BBC is moving its Midlands headquarters to an adjoining site, the Tea Factory, and the HS2 terminal in Curzon Street is a few minutes’ walk away. Not only would the full development of Digbeth Loc. provide significant employment in the creative industries in a region in which such jobs are disproportionately scarce, but it could be a critical factor in the broader redevelopment of the area, creating quality housing and other commercial space—a vivid illustration in a microcosm of the impact that the creative industries can have on wider aspects of our society and economy.

The Government have provided £25 million of funding to the North East Combined Authority to support the Crown Works studios project in Sunderland, which I applaud, and have indicated that in the current spending review the West Midlands will receive priority funding in relation to the creative industries. Will my noble friend the Minister ensure that support for the Digbeth Loc. Studios is central to determining the funding made available to the West Midlands Combined Authority?