A key figure in the UK’s creative industry has expressed disappointment at the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) budget cuts announced yesterday (June 11) as part of the government’s spending review.
These include a substantial 2.8% capital budget cut between 2025/26 and 2029/30 period. Capital expenditures are money for investment and future growth creation, and will remain constant at £700 million from 2024-5 to 2029-30.
“The substantial dishware for DCMS is the wrong choice by the Prime Minister,” said Caroline Dinage, chairman of the influential cultural, media and sports committee and a conservative member of the Congress.
“There are also big, unanswered questions about how the department manages these cuts and what culture, media and sports parts will be made to bring the brunt of them.”
“It’s baffling to see DCMS facing a real terminology cut, as the creative industry worth £125 billion in the UK economy is identified by the government as one of eight growth sectors in their industrial strategy,” said Ellie Piers, general secretary of the UK Writers Guild.
“If governments are loyal to the stated mission to leverage our creative industry as a driver of growth, they must invest accordingly, and in order to fulfill their commitments to workers, they must include writer members who will strengthen this world-leading sector.”
Equity general secretary Paul W. Fleming said:
“One day they call our sector essential to the economic growth of our industrial strategy. Then, they announce reductions in the real terms of the cultural sector in their spending review. One day they emphasize the importance of exporting creative sectors around the world.
“Equity requires an urgent reset of UK arts and entertainment with a new strategy focused on investment, growth and creator rights.
“It’s a creative workforce that provides value to the creative industry. It’s time for the government to recognize them.”
The BFI is a DCMS Arms Length Body, which was effectively funded by the DCMS Grant-in-Aid, and rejected a request for comment on the screen.
Reduction
DCMS Cut will reduce the division’s resource budget by 1.2% from 2025-26 to 2028-29 minutes. This budget accounts for the department’s daily resources and management costs. It will increase from £1.5 billion in 2025-9 in 2025-6 to £2 billion, but it represents actual cuts due to the expected inflation.
DCMS will have a 15% reduction in staffing budget by the end of the decade. This coincides with cuts in management budgets for many other government sectors, including health and social care, education, the Ministry of Home Affairs, justice and defense.
This review promises “transformative capital investments” in culture, heritage, youth, sports infrastructure, and more, and invests more than £2.9 billion to “protect and modernize the much-loved cultural and heritage institutions of towns and cities while expanding access to local sports and physical activities.”
The creative industry has previously been identified by the Labour Government as one of the eight major growth sectors of the UK. The creative industry sector plan is expected to be released later this month.
“The promise of a significant increase in the creative industry is welcome, but there is a lack of details needed to scrutinise this claim,” Dinenage said.
As part of the spending review, the Prime Minister has pledged a £2 billion investment in the AI Action Plan.
(TagStoTRASSLATE) UK/Ireland
