Vaizey promises to promote games to Treasury

Ed Vaizey has vowed to help games firms engage directly with different Parliamentary divisions after his department was given sole responsibility for the industry.

It was announced last week that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will now handle everything to do with the interactive entertainment sector, while the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will no longer deal with games firms.

Trade body UKIE expressed concerns that links to BIS and therefore to Treasury [could] suffer as a result of these changes”, although it is looking forward to continuing to promote its policy agenda with DCMS.”

But culture minister Vaizey said he wants to help maintain the dialogue between games publishers and the different sections of the Government.

He told MCV: I think it’s very important that games have a voice in both the Treasury and Department of Education. I love the gaming industry so I’m just going to carry on talking about it, raising it and highlighting it as best as I can.

I want games [companies] to see the Treasury and the Department of Education.”

Vaizey added: The games industry is incredibly broad – one that now engages with policy makers in the way that music and film has for years – and that’s fantastic.”