Statement from Caroline Norbury OBE, Chief Executive, Creative UK, on the emergency budget announcement

The measures announced by the Chancellor, to help support people and businesses with rapidly rising costs, are a welcome temporary relief and will alleviate some of the pressure on our members in cultural organisations, creative businesses, workspaces and venues in the short term.

We are particularly pleased to see the reform of IR35, which will benefit the freelancers and sole traders who are the bedrock of the creative industries. However, ongoing economic pressures are likely to endure, and therefore more support may be necessary next year.

If the Chancellor wants to boost economic growth, he should embrace the enormous potential of the UK’s highly innovative Creative Industries. They are growing at four times the rate of the wider economy – they are the bedrock of our global competitive advantage – and can play a vital role in this challenging economic climate. Modelling in 2021 revealed that, with the right investment, the UK’s Creative Industries could contribute £132.1 billion in GVA and create 300,000 jobs by 2025 – enough to employ the working-age population of Hartlepool and Middlesbrough twice over. 

We look forward to the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Vision this Autumn and to further measures which encourage growth and ensure our world-leading Creative Industries can thrive and reach their undeniable potential.