Creative UK’s Caroline Norbury OBE responds to the House of Lords report

Statement from Caroline Norbury OBE, Chief Executive, Creative UK, in response to the House of Lords Communications Committee’s warning that Government complacency risks undermining the UK’s Creative Industries: 

“I very much welcome the House of Lords Communications Committee’s call for the Creative Industries to “sit at the heart of the UK’s economic growth plans”. The creative sector has long outperformed the wider economy and other industries in driving economic growth and job creation, and yet as the Committee’s report finds, there has been a failure to recognise and capitalise on this potential. Missed opportunities not only undermine the power of the UK’s Creative Industries, they risk diluting our position as a world-leading creative powerhouse, especially in the face of unprecedented technical advancements that are embraced by our global competitors.  

Continuing to think of UK creativity as a ‘nice-to-have’, subsidised by the taxpayer, will blunt the sector’s capacity to transform our society for the better. Financial support for the Creative Industries is not a costly public burden, on the contrary, it is a vital investment to unleash economic growth, accelerate innovation, underpin the UK’s global soft power, and provide social and wellbeing benefits to communities across the country. The UK is bursting with creative brilliance, but too often a lack of opportunities or barriers to success prevent these talents from flourishing.  

The recommendations set out by the House of Lords Communications Committee would provide a much-needed step towards cultivating an environment where creative skills are celebrated, the value of original IP is recognised, and R&D receives the investment required to realise new, unexpected and transformational possibilities.”