Economic importance of the UK creative industries

The timely publication of the revised Creative Industries Council (CIC) Strategy reminds us of the economic importance of the creative industries, accounting as they do for 5.2% of GVA and growing around twice as fast as the UK as a whole.

The creative industries account for 9% of total UK exports, and Foreign Direct Investment into the creative industries grew by 20% in 2014-15 - which is significantly above the UK average.

Therefore, at the report launch yesterday it was good to hear at this uncertain time Sajid Javid saying that the creative industries would definitely be at the "heart of the UK's international negotiations" going ahead.

Mapping the UK creative industries

The Strategy also continues the increased focus of government on what it can do to support the creative industries at the local level. In this context, we're looking to share with you later this month the results of our major new mapping of the UK's creative industries, in partnership with Creative England.

As well as identifying the UK's metropolitan hotspots for creative businesses, this report also looks at which clusters are best served for creative talent supply and relevant university research, as well as networking activities.