Matthew Hancock: the creative industries
Speech by Matthew Hancock at the Makegood Festival.
Introduction
Thank you very much.
Hello and welcome to the .
I am delighted to be here today at this fantastic showcase of culture, creativity and entrepreneurship.
It바카라 사이트s a pleasure to see so many startups in the creative industries 바카라 사이트 and so many people who have benefited from their training with , experience and sheer hard work.
For many of you here, this weekend represents the culmination of a year바카라 사이트s hard work, launching your creative business. And it is a celebration of the intensely powerful spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship that we find in Britain today.
I바카라 사이트m sure it바카라 사이트s been inspirational.
It바카라 사이트s pretty inspirational for me.
This weekend Makegood will play host to some of the finest new creative that London has to offer, with a line-up of speakers with a dedicated following from across creative industries.
Small businesses
Startups and small businesses like yours are the lifeblood of our economy.
In every single village, town and city in Britain, enterprising and hardworking people 바카라 사이트 like everyone in this room 바카라 사이트 are putting their energy, enthusiasm and creativity into brand new businesses.
In fact, more people than ever are rolling up their sleeves and going for it: almost 500,000 new businesses were started last year.
We are backing all of those new businesses 바카라 사이트 and all of you 바카라 사이트 every step of the way.
By extending small business rate relief until 2015 and introducing a new Employment Allowance to put up to Β£200 back into your business. By cutting unnecessary red tape, saving businesses over Β£1.2 billion already. By making it easier to access finance, like our new start-up loans. And easier to take on young people, by abolishing national insurance contributions for people under 21 from April 2015.
We want Britain to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business, bar none.
That바카라 사이트s my goal. Supporting you, and others like you, to grow.
Creating a stronger, more secure and more prosperous Britain.
Creative industries
All of you have a huge part to play in this.
Because the creative industries are one of the most vibrant parts of our economy 바카라 사이트 and one of our greatest strengths as a nation.
In 2012 alone, the creative industries contributed Β£71 billion to the economy 바카라 사이트 around 5% of UK total GVA. They바카라 사이트ve developed services exports worth Β£15.5 billion 바카라 사이트 8% of UK services total in 2011.
In the 5 years between 2008 and 2012, they grew by 15%, almost 3 times more than the economy as a whole.
Over 100,000 creative enterprises provide 1.7 million jobs, 5% of UK employment in 2012. And if we count creative jobs across all sectors, the 바카라 사이트creative economy바카라 사이트 provided 2.5 million jobs, 8% of UK total employment in 2012.
Because creative businesses and people help drive growth and exports in all kinds of industries 바카라 사이트 through good advertising, marketing, innovative design, software, new business models and so on.
And that바카라 사이트s without mentioning British films, performing arts, music, video games, crafts and fashion 바카라 사이트 from the world-leading names showcased in our GREAT campaign, which give this country such an incredible reputation from country to country and continent to continent.
These all fly the flag for Britain across the globe. And events like this are a brilliant chance to recognise their success 바카라 사이트 and spot the stars of the future.
바카라 사이트 is right behind you
The government is right behind you.
Over the last few years we바카라 사이트ve made sure that creative businesses have received special, targeted support.
Corporation tax relief has helped to secure Β£5.5 billion investment in a thousand British films 바카라 사이트 as well as supporting growth in TV production, animation, video games and regional theatre.
And we have provided Β£2.4 billion of public investment in the arts and culture in the four years since 2011 alone.
We are also making sure that creative businesses 바카라 사이트 and all businesses come to that 바카라 사이트 can rely on the sort of reliable, quick, high-quality communications infrastructure they need to survive. As I바카라 사이트m sure every one of you will be able to confirm, if you are well connected, and trade online, you can work from and sell to anywhere in the world 바카라 사이트 if not, it바카라 사이트s almost impossible to clear that first hurdle.
So we have provided Β£530 million to stimulate commercial investment and bring high speed broadband to rural communities; and provided Β£150 million to establish super-connected cities across the UK. We바카라 사이트re also investing up to Β£150 million to improve the quality and coverage of mobile phone voice and data services.
Of course, the best people to advise creative businesses on how to achieve success are those who have already done it. So we바카라 사이트re working with the industry on how we can encourage this vital sector to grow 바카라 사이트 including in the Creative Industries Council, chaired by Nicola Mendelsohn of Facebook 바카라 사이트 and I am looking forward to seeing the upcoming creative industries strategy written by employers for employers.
And the 바카라 사이트 who are behind this festival 바카라 사이트 are doing a fantastic job of training and backing creative entrepreneurs. I바카라 사이트m sure everyone here will want to thank them for all their support so far. The range and number of startups showcased here shows how successful they바카라 사이트ve been 바카라 사이트 and I바카라 사이트m sure they바카라 사이트re not stopping yet.
Small businesses
We want to make sure that we help, and don바카라 사이트t hinder. And we know that바카라 사이트s what you want too.
As the first government in modern history to reduce the overall amount of regulation, we바카라 사이트ve targeted 3,000 rules to be scrapped or amended 바카라 사이트 making it easier for businesses to survive and thrive.
And because businesses have told us that they want a tax regine which supports enterprise, a workforce with the right skills for the job, and better access to finance 바카라 사이트 that바카라 사이트s what we바카라 사이트re doing.
Thanks to our new Employment Allowance, 450,000 small businesses will pay no national insurance at all 바카라 사이트 allowing entrepreneurs to keep more of what they earn; meaning more cash for running and growing a business and creating new jobs.
And we바카라 사이트ve created one of the most competitive tax regimes in the world 바카라 사이트 including through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Annual Investment Allowance.
Access to finance
But I know that creative entrepreneurs often find it particularly difficult to get finance. They바카라 사이트re often strong on creativity, energy and enthusiasm 바카라 사이트 with loads of high-value intellectual property 바카라 사이트 but few tangible assets.
That is where our new is helping.
Around a third of venture capital from Enterprise Capital Funds has gone to creative and digital small businesses.
The Bank바카라 사이트s Enterprise Finance Guarantee has enabled loans to more than 500 creative businesses. The , a public / private co-investment scheme for alternative and peer-to-peer lenders, is also playing an important role.
And 23% of all Start-up Loans have been offered to new businesses in the creative industries.
But money isn바카라 사이트t the only factor.
Skills
Alongside proper finance, you need a highly-skilled, well-educated workforce.
Research from a successful creative cluster in Brighton suggests that the most successful creative businesses are led by people with a combination of creative, digital and business skills.
And while we know that creative businesses thrive on diverse talents, we also know that doors have not always been open to people from all backgrounds, especially those without degrees.
This is now changing for the better.
Five years ago there were virtually no apprentices in the creative industries 바카라 사이트 there are now over 4,200.
We have driven up the quality of training every apprentice receives and now offer grants of up to Β£1,500 to firms that hire an apprentice.
New higher-level apprenticeships, equivalent to university study, have been developed by industry, for example in fashion, textiles, advertising and software development.
And the Β£15 million, publicly-funded is supporting up to 6,500 new apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships and paid internships in creative organisations.
But to make sure these changes make a real impact, we need to put employers in the driving seat 바카라 사이트 so that they are empowered to take responsibility for training and development, working with employees, freelancers, trade unions and training providers to make sure that their staff develop the skills they need to succeed.
Conclusion
These changes 바카라 사이트 and the other action I바카라 사이트ve outlined today 바카라 사이트 are just part of the work this government is doing to encourage creative start-ups, help small businesses grow and attract more talent into the creative industries from more diverse backgrounds.
Many of you here today are showing what can be done.
I wish you every success in the future.
Your success doesn바카라 사이트t just benefit you it helps the whole creative economy, the whole UK economy, to grow stronger and fairer, building a more prosperous country for all of us.