Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue to support creative industries, including through the Music and Dance Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The creative industries are one of this government’s priority sectors for growth, as set out in our Industrial Strategy. The Creative Industries Sector Plan aims to make the UK the top destination for creativity and innovation by 2035. The Plan includes targeted packages for high-growth subsectors, including film, TV, video games, advertising, music, visual and performing arts. The Plan focuses on helping creative businesses access finance, export and innovate, and to develop a high quality workforce.
As part of this, the Government fully supports the arts and the skills pipeline into the creative industries, with the Department for Education providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year.
Asked by: Steve Yemm (Labour - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of online storefronts or game servers being shut down on (a) consumer rights and (b) digital ownership.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is aware of concerns relating to the continued access to video games, including licensed, online-only video games, and we appreciate the frustrations of players of some games that have been discontinued. The Government has spoken with the video games industry and has responded to a recent petition on this issue. As the petition has since reached 100,000 signatures, it will be debated by Parliament on 3 November 2025.
Those selling games must comply with existing requirements in consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA), giving clear advice to consumers. Video game sellers must not omit or hide material information, or provide it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner. If consumers believe that there has been a breach of these regulations, they should report it to the Citizens Advice helpline on 0808 223 1133 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk)
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the risk of skin gambling on young people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Unlicensed skins gambling websites operate illegally outside of the video game ecosystem. Earlier this year, we commissioned independent research to better understand skins gambling and its impact on children and young people. The resulting rapid evidence review on skins gambling was published in September. This review and its conclusions will form part of our consideration when determining what future policy changes may be needed around how to best protect children and young people from skins gambling related harms.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Creative Industries Sector Plan, published on 23 June 2025, when she plans to publish the video games skills strategy.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Video Games Skills Strategy is being developed by an industry-led UK Games Skills Network and is due to be published later in 2025. This will build on findings from the Creative Industries Council Skills Audit, giving video games skills organisations and delivery partners a clear remit for tackling persistent skills gaps.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to restrict the sale of computer games that (a) allow players to pretend to be the perpetrator in real-life school shootings and (b) create scenarios where players can commit mass school shootings; and whether she plans to restrict the promotion of such games to (i) children and (ii) all people.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Decisions regarding the classification of video games are made by the Games Rating Authority (GRA). The GRA’s decisions are made independently of the government, which is important to ensure impartiality. The GRA’s age ratings serve to protect the public and empower people to make informed gaming choices, whilst also recognising and respecting adult freedom of choice within the law.
The GRA is able to address issues of potential harm by awarding an appropriate age rating or suggesting changes to a developer’s content to make the game acceptable. Where this is not possible, a classification may be refused.
Even if material does not breach a specific UK law, the GRA may refuse to classify content on harm grounds when a game contains material that poses a significant risk of harm; either to viewers or, through their subsequent behaviour, to society. This may include content that contains:
Material that promotes criminal activity, including drugs;
Material that is illegal or has been created by the commission of a criminal offence;
Portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context;
Material which makes rape, or other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour, or sadistic violence look appealing.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the video games industry on the number of vocational qualifications for 16 to 18 year olds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Students deserve high-quality qualifications that meet their needs. The department continues to develop and improve qualifications so that they meet the needs of students and employers.
The Digital Software Development T Level provides young people with the core knowledge and skills for a career in software production and design, including in games design and development.
We will consider how to continue to improve the quality of qualifications available to students, including on games design, in the light of the recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and will engage with employers and sector organisations on this in due course. The Curriculum and Assessment Review will publish recommendations in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Independent Game Developers’ Association on the adequacy of the level of the Games Expenditure Credit for smaller studios.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s video games sector. DCMS have engaged with The Independent Game Developers Association, including through the industry-led UK Video Games Council, to discuss proposals for enhanced tax relief support for lower budget productions.
There are a multitude of factors to consider when deciding on new tax reliefs beyond return on investment and sector impact, and the government is committed to ensuring that all public money is spent and targeted effectively across the creative industries and wider economy.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of potential impact of the UK Games Fund on (a) employment, (b) investment, (c) studio formation and (d) IP development over the next 12 months.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS commissioned an independent evaluation of the UK Games Fund (UKGF) by Alma Economics which was published on 18th July 2025. This evaluation assessed the fund’s impact between April 2022 and March 2025, as well as previous iterations of the programme since 2015.
The evaluation found that:
UKGF was estimated to contribute around 430 additional FTE jobs in the video games sector during the three years evaluated.
UKGF-funded companies surveyed leveraged an additional £18.2m in funding, which exceeds the total £13m invested into the fund.
On IP development, 74% of beneficiaries agreed or strongly agreed that their prototype or video game would not have been completed without UKGF support, which was associated with an eight-percentage-point increase in the probability of beneficiaries having developed a prototype or video game after one year of funding, compared to those who did not receive UKGF support.
The evaluation did not measure the fund’s impact on studio formation but, in response to interviews, some applicants commented that UKGF was well-targeted to smaller studios early in the development process, noting it as a critical funding source for games studios that had not yet made a game in full.
As part of the recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government announced the £30 million Games Growth Package, including an expansion of the UKGF over the next three years. While we do not have an assessment of the fund’s impact over the next 12 months, it is anticipated that the programme will achieve greater impact with its increased funding.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussion she has had with the video games industry on the availability of business training for entrepreneurs in that sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The then Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism met with the newly formed Video Games Council in September where the availability of business training for entrepreneurs in the video games sector was discussed.
As noted in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Video Games Skills Strategy is being developed and published in 2025 by a sector-convened UK Games Skills Network. This will build on findings from the Creative Industries Council Skills Audit, giving video games skills organisations and delivery partners a clear remit for tackling persistent skills gaps.
The Government looks forward to this important piece of industry-led work to assess sector needs, including in business training for entrepreneurs.
Currently, businesses are able to access Business & IP Centres, coordinated by the British Library, that provide businesses and entrepreneurs with access to IP knowledge, market intelligence, and support services, with locations across the UK.
As outlined in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government will also work with industry to support sector training pathways through a new DCMS and Skills England led Creative Sector Skills Forum.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of potential impact of the Video Games Expenditure Credit on levels of (a) employment, (b) investment, (c) studio formation and (d) IP development.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including the key role they play in driving economic growth. Video games jobs are highly productive at nearly double the average national output, and technology developed by games businesses contributes an estimated £1.3 billion output to the UK economy each year.
Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, which provides a tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.
It is too soon to conduct an assessment of VGEC’s impact given it was introduced on 1 January 2024, after which there will be a lag of at least 12 months as accounting periods end and corporation tax returns are filed. An evaluation of the Video Game Tax Relief (VGTR), which VGEC is replacing, was published in July 2017. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/video-game-tax-relief-evaluation.
The government will continue to work with industry to monitor the VGEC and its effectiveness on an ongoing basis.