Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has of the potential merits of the UK participating in Creative Europe.

His Majesty’s Government recognises the great value of the UK’s world-leading creative sectors. The creative industries continue to thrive and are a key high-growth sector of our economy, as well as bringing great joy and wellbeing to people’s lives. The sector contributed £108 billion to the economy in 2021, accounting for 6% of UK GVA, and employed 2.3 million people – 7% of the total UK workforce – with employment growth increasing at almost five times the rate of the economy more widely since 2011.

Since leaving the EU, the UK is no longer part of the Creative Europe programme. The Government decided not to seek continued participation in the Creative Europe programme, but to look at other, more targeted ways of supporting the UK’s cultural and creative sectors.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund delivers on a commitment to match EU funding across all four nations of the UK and gives local people control of how their money is spent, removing unnecessary bureaucracy and enabling them to invest in the cultural organisations that particularly matter to them.

Similarly, the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund invests in local infrastructure projects which improve life for people across the UK, focusing on regeneration, local transport, and supporting cultural, creative and heritage assets. The second round of the Fund was announced in January 2023, and included more than £16 million for a new Production Village in Hartlepool, for instance, providing new jobs and opportunities in the creative industries and boosting the local economy.

Arts Council England supports the Four Nations International Fund, launched in 2021. This supports people working in the arts and creative industries across the UK, together with their counterparts in Europe and beyond.

This is in addition to support given through the Government's extension of the higher rates of theatre and orchestra tax relief for a further two years, as announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors. Collectively, the two-year extension to the higher rates of theatre, orchestra and museums tax reliefs is estimated to be worth £350m over the five-year forecast period.

To support independent screen content – including film – to grow internationally, the Government launched the UK Global Screen Fund in April 2021 with initial funding of £7 million. We have committed a further £21 million to this Fund over the period 2022–25 to develop, distribute, and promote independent UK screen content in international markets.