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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure the UK attracts talented workers in the creative industries at all stages of their career in response to the lack of eligible prize holders that have applied to her Department's fast-track Global Talent visa.

The Global Talent Visa enables the UK to attract the best and brightest in a number of creative and cultural sectors, including through its fast-tracked route for award-winning leaders in these fields.

The Government works closely with the endorsing bodies for the route, including Arts Council England, to develop the route to ensure it continues to meet sectors’ needs. We ensure that the route makes it as easy as possible for those top creatives coming to the UK, which is why we introduced the Prestigious Prizes pathway for those at the pinnacle of their career. Where individuals do not hold one of these prizes they continue to be able to use the wider Global Talent Visa route. The number of visas granted on this route has continued to grow from 422 between its launch in February 2020 to September 2020, to 1,709 applicants for the year ending September 2021.

DCMS continues to work with the Home Office, across government and with the creative sectors to look at what more can be done to further attract talented creative professionals to live and work in the UK.