The UK’s creative industries could be worth £128.4bn to the UK economy by 2025 and help to create up to 1m new jobs by 2030 according to a review of the sector led by ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette.

Bazalgette’s Independent Review of the Creative Industries outlines key recommendations for how the sector can underpin the UK’s future economic growth.

It also highlights how the creative industries are continuing to outperform other sectors in terms of employment, having created 300,000 new jobs between 2011 and 2015. It said the UK’s creative industries contribute nearly £90bn to the economy and employ more than 2m people.

The report says that creative occupations are highly resistant to automation with 87% of creative workers in the UK at low or no risk, meaning their share of the workforce is likely to rise steadily in coming years.

The report’s recommendations focus on issues such as access to finance, intellectual property, trade and have a key focus on the development of creative clusters throughout the UK.

For example, the report recommends that the government should launch a ‘Key Creative Clusters’ competition, supported by a new five-year £500m Creative Clusters Fund, to accelerate regional growth.

It says industry should work with a small number of universities and existing creative clusters on a ‘Creative Leaders’ scheme to cultivate a network of highly skilled cluster leaders around the UK.

The report also calls for industry and government to develop a joint plan to increase take-up of existing R&D tax credits by creative industries businesses.

The report also says government should increase the support offered to businesses to protect and exploit IP.

There is also a call for investment from the British Business Bank into the creative industries to be significantly increased, as well as regionally-focused.

Other recommendations include a strategy to attract and develop young talent to make the creative industries more accessible, including a careers programme for secondary schools and expanding the UK’s network of Saturday Clubs.

In response the Government has announced the opening of the £80 million Creative Industries Clusters Programme competition, led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said: “The UK’s Creative Industries are an economic powerhouse and the government is committed to removing the barriers to its growth. The key challenge now is turning these ideas into a strong partnership, which is credible and has buy-in from both government and industry.”

Bazalgette said: “In every scenario the Creative Industries are set to be of central importance to the UK’s future success. We have two great assets: the English language and our creativity, but the skills and business models of this sector are of increasing importance. My report recommends simple ways of maximising the potential of this crucial sector which I’d like to see become part of the government’s developing Industrial Strategy.”

Staff Reporter

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