Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to encourage young people to pursue careers in the creative and digital sectors.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
High-quality careers guidance helps young people make informed choices about their futures, so they can develop their interests and potential, and follow the path that is right for them to progress into work.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. Last month was ‘Discover! Creative Careers Month’ as part of our Creative Careers Programme which seeks to increase awareness, consideration and uptake of creative careers among young people aged 13-17 years old, as well as their parents and carers. The month provided 70,000 young people aged 11-18 years old with employer-led experiences and opportunities, including experiences related to digital careers, such as video games and VFX.
In our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June, we committed to refreshing the £9 million Creative Careers Programme as a UK-wide programme. We will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the creative industries, including the createch sector, and the refreshed programme will launch in the next financial year.
Building on the Creative Careers Programme, the government announced in November that we were investing £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on improving access to finance for the video games industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to produce video games. We recognise the high growth potential of the sector, and are committed to improving its access to finance.
This is why, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we have committed £30 million over the next three years for the Games Growth Package, which includes a significant expansion of the UK Games Fund which will continue to provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.
The tax reliefs offered to video games companies continue to make the UK one of the best places in the world to make video games. Our Video Games Expenditure Credit ensures that this highly skilled and innovative industry is able to thrive and the government will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure its continued effectiveness.
Also outlined in the Creative Industries Sector Plan was a significant increase in support from the British Business Bank (BBB) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The BBB is committing an additional £4 billion of Industrial Strategy Growth Capital to support investment and growth in the eight priority Industrial Strategy sectors, including the creative industries, while UKRI will lead efforts to significantly increase public funding for the creative sectors, including support for commercialisation and tech adoption.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase digital skills within the video-games sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is making the UK the best place in the world to create video games, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy. We understand that digital skills are a key part of this.
The government is working with the creative industries to build evidence, support sector training pathways and ensure the workforce is prepared for the future of work. We will introduce short courses, in England, funded by the Growth and Skills Levy, in areas such as digital, to support Industrial Strategy sectors like the Creative Industries from April 2026. We have also committed to a new £187 million “TechFirst” programme to bring digital skills and AI learning into classrooms and communities and train up people of all ages and backgrounds for the tech careers of the future.
As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan published earlier this year, a Video Games Skills Strategy is also being developed by an industry-led 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.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support collaboration between artificial intelligence researchers and video game developers to increase innovation and high-skilled employment.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government recognises AI’s established role in the UK's video game sector, such as supporting content generation and character behaviours. As technology advances, AI has the potential to further enhance creativity, efficiency, and accessibility in games development.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI) since 2014. IGGI has produced over 60 PhD graduates at the intersection of AI, games, and human-computer interaction, focused on using games to drive innovation, improve well-being, and tackle societal challenges. Graduates have turned research into business value across the creative industries, including roles at Sony AI and Google DeepMind. The Government will continue engaging with the games industry to understand opportunities and challenges regarding responsible use of AI, to ensure the UK’s innovative games industry thrives in the age of AI.
Our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June, announced a number of measures that will support innovation across the creative industries. This includes a £100 million investment to support R&D creative clusters across the UK; and the UKRI will lead efforts to significantly increase public funding and leverage substantial industry investment to promote R&D and innovation in the Creative Industries.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking with industry partners to develop innovation funding and training programmes for the use of generative artificial intelligence in the video games sector.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has partnered with leading tech firms to deliver AI skills training to 7.5 million UK workers. In the creative industries, Skills England have conducted research and analysis to identify AI-related skills gaps across the creative industries and support emerging creative AI roles. As outlined in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we will introduce short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, in areas including AI. We will also work with the Digital Skills Council, an industry-led advisory body, to support sector training pathways and ensure the workforce is prepared for the future of work.
The Government recognises that AI already plays an established role in the UK's video game sector, having multiple use cases from content generation, character behaviours, and more. As technology advances, AI has the potential to further enhance creativity, efficiency, and accessibility in games development.
DCMS will continue to engage with the games industry to understand opportunities and challenges related to the responsible use of AI, ensuring that we continue to support our innovative games industry to thrive in the age of AI.
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.