Labour-backed creative industries report also calls for additional diversity targets.

A Labour policy paper has called for greater support for the creative industries in the UK regions and more diversity targets.

The paper, titled Leading the Field: A Review of the Creative Industries, praised the growing strength of the UK creative industries but also set out a host of recommendations for improvement.

Regions

The report, compiled by former UK Film Council chief executive John Woodward, argued that the lack of creative industries growth in the UK’s regions should be a “priority” for Whitehall, which should devolve more decision-making and funding away from London.

“The welcome emergence of London as possibly the leading creative industry hub in the world has disguised the lack of equivalent growth outside London, and this situation should be addressed by Government as a priority, not least through the devolution of decision making and funding away from Whitehall and into the English regions”.

The 88-page report recommended that the DCMS lead an audit with ACE to determine how the balance of arts funding is allocated between London and the rest of England and “implement changes required to rebalance” funding.

Diversity

The report praised recent movements by the Government and different groups (including the UK broadcasters) to improve diversity within the creative industries but also pointed out that the lack of diversity remains strikingly apparent.

The report called on public institutions to take a lead in driving change.

“The composition of the senior management and boards, in both public and private organisations across the creative industries, seem remarkably homogenous. This situation needs to be addressed.”

The report recommended that by 2020, the governing boards of all creative industry organisations in the public sector should have a 50/50 gender balance, with at least 15% of board members being BAME.

It also argued that targets should be developed to ensure that disability is more properly represented within the creative industries.

“The lack of useful statistics in this area seems to speak eloquently to the lack of importance attached to diversity as a policy issue by the Coalition Government until very recently,” it continued.

Key recommendations

Among other key recommendations were that the Treasury, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) should commission a joint review of financing options for UK creative industries.

Arts should be integrated into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in schools in England, said the report, and there should be much more proactive engagement with the European Commission on competition and regulatory issues from the UK Government, Ofcom and the competition authorities. 

Contributors to the paper included the UK broadcasters and many private film and TV companies as well as major organisations and companies from across the creative sectors.