£50m investment in creative industries announced

Creative businesses will benefit from £50m government investment in an an effort to drive economic growth.

The investment includes £21m to help build on the international success of the UK film industry through a three-year UK Global Screen Fund.

This follows a successful one-year pilot of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport scheme that has boosted the global reach of UK independent productions, including The Miracle Club (starring Maggie Smith) and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (starring Emma Thompson), administered by the British Film Institute (BFI).

£8m will help start-up gaming businesses across the country grow their operations, through the UK Games Fund. Based in Dundee, the UK Games Fund will make sure video games firms’ talented workforces have the skills they need to thrive in the sector.

This includes increased support for early stage businesses and entrepreneurial young developers, nurturing talent and fostering new games creation across the UK.

The Creative Scale Up Programme, which provides finance and business support to firms in the creative industries, will also be expanded with more than £18m of new funding. This investment will support innovative creative businesses outside of London as part of the government’s levelling up plans.

The creative industries have made a substantial and sustained contribution to economic growth and job creation across the UK growing, on average, nearly twice the rate of the wider economy.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “The creative industries in the UK are truly world class and I am committed to doing everything I can to support their innovative work as they continue to thrive.

“£50m of Government investment will provide businesses across the country with the tools they need to expand their work and provide even more jobs as we look to level up opportunities across the country.”

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