Creative exports can 'grow to £31bn' following Brexit

Creative exports can grow to £31bn by 2020 following Brexit, the Creative Industries Council (CIC) has claimed.

The organisation - a partnership of industry and government - has released a five-year blueprint called Create Together to help creative exports grow over the next five years from £19.8bn in 2014 to £31bn in 2020 following an exit from the European Union.

Industry members of the CIC have argued the creative industries are well placed to address the opportunities and challenges created by the ‘Leave’ outcome in the UK referendum on EU membership, and the strategy intends to cement the UK’s status as a "global hub for commercial creativity".

However, it argued that to achieve the export growth, the UK government must ensure the UK remains able to receive favourable access to the international and digital single market in its negotiations with the EU and that the people and skills needed to deliver economic growth continue to have access to the UK.

Secretary of state for culture, media and sport John Whittingdale said: “The creative industries are one of the UK’s greatest success stories. That success is built upon the extraordinary talent which exists in this country, an amazing cultural heritage, the English language and a tax system designed to support and encourage growth in the creative sector. None of this is changed by the UK’s decision to leave the EU and I am confident that our creative industries will continue to thrive and take advantage of the new opportunities which are opening up to do business across the world.”

Nicola Mendelsohn, industry co-chair of the CIC, said: “The UK’s creative industries are open for business as usual. We have long been an engine in delivering economic growth, new jobs and service exports to the UK. We now believe we can be instrumental in shaping the new growth agenda in the post-Brexit world and play an important part in economic development of all parts of the UK.”

She added: “We are ready and willing to play our role in the UK’s future strategy and we want to work with government to ensure our world-beating creative organisations thrive in the post-Brexit world”.

The blueprint was launched at the same time the government department of culture, media and sport (DCMS) has released new figures revealing the creative industries are generating almost £10m an hour for the UK economy.

Official data shows creative jobs and service exports are growing "much faster" than in the rest of the economy, with creative industries generating a “staggering” £84bn a year - almost £10m an hour - for the UK economy, while jobs have increased three times faster than the UK average.

According to the statistics, the number of jobs in the creative industries has risen by nearly 20% since 2011-nearly triple the rate of the UK economy as a whole - and now account for 1.9m jobs.

The number of BAME (black, Asian, minority ethnic)  workers in the creative industries has also “rocketed” by almost 45% since 2011, with the sector “actively embracing a more diverse workforce,” the DCMS said. The figure is more than double the rate of the rest of the UK employment sector, which has risen by around 18%.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said: “We made it clear to the sector that more needed to be done to improve diversity and I’m pleased that these figures show progress with the Creative Industries taking notice and working hard to address this issue. But we want to see further progress in this sector.”

Chief executive of the Publishers Association Stephen Lotinga told The Bookseller: “Publishing is a great British success story and underpins many of the other creative industries.  From inspiring Hollywood blockbusters, high-end TV drama and hit West End shows, books are central to the success we are rightly celebrating today".

Yesterday a report by analysts Enders, however, warned the media outlook was "dismal" following Brexit and suggested that the period of uncertainty could last “a good five years”.