Does the UK Government Understand the Creative Industries?

More bad news – not only is China about to eat our creative industries for breakfast, but according to Discontents, a new report by think-tank Demos argues that the UK Government “doesn’t understand” the creative industries. Which is a bit of poke in the eye for a government that aspires to be a world leader in creative industries policy.

Discontents reports that Branwell Johnson reports that the Demos report reports that the government is “confused” about how to support creative businesses:

Demos argues that the standard approaches designed for traditional industries will not work with the creative sector. It points out that firms in this sector typically have less than 10 workers and rely on freelance activity.

It’s not a new argument, but it will be interesting to see the report itself when it’s published next Tuesday 19th June. There’s a launch event featuring Feargal Sharkey at the British Film Institute – last time I checked there were still free places available. I’ll be there – drop me an e-mail if you’re coming and want to meet up.