Government invests £1.57 billion to protect Britains creative industry
The Government have launched 1.47bn emergency support package to help protect Britains' creative industry. The investment follows several weeks of pressure from industry leaders, warning that many venues and jobs will be lost if no action is taken.
The relief comes at a pivotal time, as Britains creative industries are marked as one of the worst-hit by Covid-19. The industry is projected to take a turnover loss of £74 billion over the course of 2020. There has been a projected employment drop of 119,000 in the creative industries.
The projections are opposite to that of the Creative Industries contribution to the UK economy in 2019. In 2018 the CI's grew at 5x the rate of the wider British economy and contributed £111.7 billion to the economy.
“I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations.”
-Culture secretary, Oliver Dowden
How the arts emergency fund will work
There has not yet been full disclosure of how the investment and grants will be distributed. It has been stated that decisions on how the fund is awarded will be made alongside expert independent figures from the sector, including the Arts Council of England and BFI.
The list of organisations that are stated to be eligible to include:
Performing arts
Theatres
Heritage
Historic Palaces
Museums
Galleries
Live Music
Independent Cinema
There has not yet been any statement issued to confirm if this is a comprehensive list.
"From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK’s cultural industry is the beating heart of this country."
-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson
A vague distribution of funds has been issued on the Gov.uk site. The £1.15 billion is made up of £880million in grants and £270million in repayable loans. A further £100million will be committed to national cultural institutions such as the English Heritage Trust.
The new funding will also allow an extra £188 million for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The return of the creative industry
Alongside the welcoming of the fund, industry figureheads are pushing for more clarity on when the entertainment industry will be able to open back up for business.
Cinemas were allowed to reopen from thee 4th July this month and the cultural secretary has said that outdoor performances may commence in the near future.