UK Govt boosts creative industries with £25m

The UK Government has given a further £25m to the creative industries help contribute to economic growth, as part of today’s Budget.

Chancellor George Osborne allocated £6m in 2012’s Autumn Statement. Now the Skills Investment Fund (SIF) will be given an extra £5m each year over the next two years, with government match-funding for voluntary industry contributions.

The extra funding for SIF, administered by Creative Skillset, will support skills development in the UK digital content sectors, which includes video games, animation and high-end TV production.

A further £15m has been committed to the design and launch of a new competition, led by the Technology Strategy Board. The competition will invite consortia bids to support digital content production through partnerships with industry, including specialist SMEs, educational research facilities and training providers.

The Treasury also plans to launch a public consultation on options to provide further support for the visual effects (VFX) industry through the tax system.

“The UK has a world class content production sector. Today’s package of measures, announced in the Budget, recognises the significant economic contribution made by our highly skilled creative content industries,” said creative industries minister Ed Vaizey.

“It demonstrates Government’s ongoing commitment to supporting innovation and investing in talent to help keep the UK ahead of the game when it comes creative excellence.”

Though the Government has announced continued support for the creative industries, it revealed today that tax breaks for the UK games industry have been delayed.