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Creative Industries Federation Launch General Election Manifesto

Creative Industries Federation Launch General Election Manifesto

 

The Creative Industries Federation, the national membership organisation that brings together all of the UK’s arts, creative industries and cultural education, has launched its election manifesto. 

 

According to the Creative Industries Federation it is key to driving growth in a post-Brexit Britain. The fastest growing part of the UK’s economy, the sector contributes £87bn in GVA.

 

It returns four times the GVA of the automotive industry, six times as much as life sciences and nearly 10 times that of aerospace. Between 2011 and 2015, it created three times more jobs than the economy as a whole. The UK is the third-largest exporter of cultural goods and services in the world – just behind China and the US. However, as other countries are now prioritising the sector, we cannot take our global pre-eminence for granted.

 

With much of this growth, innovation and job creation emerging beyond London and the South East, the creative industries are also critical to delivering social and economic regeneration in places that need it the most. Few other sectors can deliver so much and at this scale.

 

With the right vision, leadership and policies in place, the creative industries can help secure an economy and society that works for all. But if government fails to deliver, this vision is at risk.

 

We have identified 10 priority recommendations that will enable the creative industries, arts and cultural education – and therefore the nation – to thrive:

 

  1. Ensure that the creative industries and arts are a priority sector in Brexit negotiations. Federation members were overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the EU for very practical reasons. The sector will be particularly vulnerable if we do not get right all the key issues in negotiations, among them movement of talent and intellectual property (IP).

 

  1. Prioritise the creative industries in a new visa system. Our visa system was built for an industrial landscape that no longer exists. We need a 21st century model that recognises the needs of fast-growing, world-leading and highly innovative sectors, including science, tech and the creative industries.

 

  1. Double the number of creative companies that export by the end of the next Parliament. Trade strategies are currently geared toward larger enterprises, whereas the creative industries are primarily made up of small and micro businesses. The sector accounted for 9% of total exports of services from the UK in 2014, valued at £20bn – an underestimate. With the right support, exports could be far higher, offering economic stability to a post-Brexit Britain.

 

  1. Introduce creative enterprise zones. The success of the creative industries can and must be harnessed to deliver growth and regeneration across the UK. Government should extend the roll-out of enterprise zones to cover the creative industries. Areas that axe or severely reduce arts funding would be ineligible.

 

  1. Establish a creative industries ‘business booster’ network. Freelancers, microbusinesses and SMEs – the backbone of the creative industries – often struggle to access finance and support around intellectual property and exports at the early, often risky stage of development. A national centre, based outside London and with a regional network, to provide advice on these issues is needed to ensure the creative industries continue to grow apace.

 

  1. Set up a creative skills commission. The creative industries face significant skills shortages because we have failed to prepare young people in education and training. The commission would report within six months on practical measures to defuse the skills time bomb and better equip the next generation for 21st century life.

 

  1. Launch a creative careers campaign. Careers guidance must be transformed. Government should lead on a creative careers campaign to correct inadequate information about potential careers in the creative industries and open up access to those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Better, inspirational advice would go some way towards solving the skills crisis in the creative industries and in others that rely heavily on creative skills, such as manufacturing.

 

  1. Limit ‘outstanding’ to schools that warrant it. Creative employment is resistant to automation, and adapting to the future jobs landscape will demand creative skills. Securing a workforce fit for the 21st century begins at school. A school must teach at least one creative subject, in lesson time, in order to be eligible for an ‘outstanding’ rating by Ofsted.

 

  1. Maintain and inflation-proof existing national and local investment in culture and the arts. Modest public investment in the arts not only supports our world-beating public institutions but provides cross-fertilisation for the commercial sector in talent and ideas.

 

  1. Maintain and increase the growth of the creative industries. Over the past five years, the sector has grown by 34% – the fastest growing part of the UK’s economy. Government should commit to maintaining and increasing this pace of growth by 2022 for the sake not only of the sector, but of the wider economy too. This could take the GVA of the sector to an impressive £120bn.

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