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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to finance for creative SMEs in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The new Creative Industries Sector Plan, published as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, recognises that outside London and the South East, creative businesses find it harder to access finance. The £43 million DCMS Create Growth Programme supports thousands of creative SMEs to grow and access finance, including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, providing grant funding, investor capacity building activities and investment readiness support.

The Sector Plan sets out further support for creative SMEs, including significantly increased support for the sector from the British Business Bank and UKRI as well as a £380 million funding package over the Spending Review period.