UK in ‘golden age’ of cinema and cannot afford complacency, Lucy Frazer to say
The UK is in the “golden age of the silver screen” and the creative industries “cannot afford to be complacent”, the Culture Secretary is set to say.
Lucy Frazer is expected to share her ambition for a £50 billion boost to the creative industries, with a million extra jobs by 2030.
In her speech to the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms 2023 & Beyond conference on Thursday morning, Ms Frazer will also warn against a “copy and paste” formula going forward.
Ms Frazer is expected to say: “Our creative industries are world class. We are in the golden age of the silver screen. We rival any country in the world at sound and visual effects, and are on track to double UK film stage space by 2025.
“And the world over, there is demand for high-end British productions not just because of our fantastic actors and our great locations, but because of our tech know-how and production skills.
“The imagination of our designers, our producers, our content creators, our writers and artists is spearheading growth right across our economy.
“I have zero doubt that we in Government can do more tangible things to support our creatives. But we cannot simply copy and paste the formula for that past success. We face increasing global competition and we cannot afford to be complacent.
“We need to maximise potential. So I am committing to growing the creative industries by an extra £50 billion by 2030, creating a million extra jobs – all over the country – by 2030 and delivering a creative careers promise that builds a pipeline of talent into our creative industries.”
The Government’s vision on how the creative sector will drive growth and build the workforce across the country will be published in the coming months.
Ms Frazer is due to add: “First – growing these sectors by promoting skills from primary school children to those returning to the workforce. Whether that is in music at school or extracurricular activities, and working with the creative sector on maximising the opportunities of bootcamps and apprenticeships.
“Secondly we want to harness talent in clusters across the UK and support cannot be at the expense of London or detract from those places that are already thriving. It needs to build on what we have already seen across the country. Whether that’s video games in Dundee and Leamington Spa, or TV in Birmingham and Leeds.
“And thirdly, targeting specific support at different sub sectors, to unlock growth across the UK.”