UK government unveils £60m funding package for creative industries

The package was unveiled at the economic growth summit in Gateshead for the creative industries, held on 17 January, that brought together 250 creative businesses and cultural leaders from organisations such as Netflix, Spotify, Warner Bros., the National Theatre and the British Museum.

The support includes a further £16.3m for the innovation-focused Create Growth Programme, £2.5m for the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, £5.5m for the UK Games Fund, £1.6m for the Music Export Growth Scheme, and £7m for the film focused UK Global Screen Fund.

Four cultural projects – Newcastle’s new Centre for Writing, Sunderland’s Glassworks, Sheffield’s music education centre Harmony Works and Weston-Super-Mare cultural venue The Tropicana - are sharing £16.2m from the Cultural Development Fund.

127 creative businesses in 12 regions across England are being awarded a share of £3.6m through the Create Growth Programme (CGP), delivered by Innovate UK. They include Tapocketa, an animation studio in Hertfordshire.

Meanwhile, the British Business Bank, which supports smaller businesses, has committed to increase its support for creative businesses to access the finance they need to grow.

The Culture Secretary also announced that the government will bring forward changes so that shorter apprenticeships are available from August 2025, recognising the particular needs of the creative industries, as a first step towards a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy.

At the summit, the Culture Secretary announced that the Labour government’s priority regions for Creative Industries are the North East, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Greater London, West of England, South Wales, Glasgow, Edinburgh-Dundee corridor, and Belfast. 

Nandy said: “Our £60m funding boost will support creative and cultural organisations across the UK to turbocharge growth by transforming local venues, creating jobs, supporting businesses and spreading opportunity across the country.

“But this is by no means the limit of our ambitions, which is why the creative industries are at the heart of the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and will continue to play a key part in this Government’s Plan for Change.”

Nandy added: “The Government will create the most attractive business environment to encourage strong, continued investment in the creative industries for years to come. The Government will design the sector plan with business, who have set out the barriers to growth, including skills and access to finance. The Government will design the sector plan with business, who have set out the barriers to growth, including skills and access to finance. As a result the Government is also making a significant signal of intent ahead of the Spending Review by announcing positive changes to the way the British Business Bank, UK Research and Innovation and skills policy will prioritise the Creative Industries.”