UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy has pledged to bolster the country’s film and TV sector by committing to help close the skills gap and putting plans back on the table for the beleaguered Marlow Film Studios.
Nandy will work with new arms-length body Skills England to fill the 25,000 job vacancies in the creative industries, and reform the broadly disliked apprenticeship levy. Skills England was set up by the Labour government to bring together key partners to meet the skills needs of the creative industries for the next decade.
“The skills shortage that has been ignored for too long acts as a brake on the ambitions of this incredible sector,” said Nandy. “That is why this government has already launched Skills England, to bring the skills we need for a decade of national renewal for our communities, businesses and country.
“We will focus apprenticeships once more on young people, to set them up to succeed and help fill the 25,000 vacancies in the creative sector.”
The film industry has been lobbying for an improvement to the training pipeline for several years, with particular concern the apprenticeship levy introduced by the previous Conservative government was not fit for purpose for the UK film and TV industries, with training programmes not flexible enough, and issues surrounding administrative costs.
Nandy said Bridget Phillipson, the secretary of state for education, is now overhauling the apprenticeship levy.
”Building on the success of existing high-quality apprenticeships in the creative industries, we will work closely with Skills England to ensure the new flexibilities announced by the prime minister last month offer shorter apprenticeships and improve the offer for a creative skills pathway for young people embarking on careers in the creative sector,” said Nandy.
“Every child should have the chance to live a richer, larger life and consider a career in the arts.”
Nandy was appointed by prime minister Keir Starmer in July of this year, after Labour won the general election.
“Too often people do not see themselves and their communities reflected in the story we tell ourselves about ourselves as a nation. And we are determined that this is going to change,” said Nandy.
Marlow returns
Nandy also confirmed the ministry of housing, communities and local government recovered an appeal against the refusal of planning permission for Marlow Film Studios in Buckinghamshire on October 8. The planning merits of the proposal will now be reviewed by the relevant ministers in detail before reaching a decision.
Marlow Film Studios, a £750m project supported by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and James Cameron and spearheaded by Robert Laycock, had planning permission refused in May. The council rejected the project due to concerns over the impact on the local road network and the use of greenbelt land for development, with local residents backing a campaign to scrap the studios.
The studio claims it will create 4,000 jobs, including 2,000 within the local economy, and provide a boost of £3.2bn in growth investment in the local area over the first decade.
The proposals were for a 36-hectare plot built upon a former landfill site.
The skills drive and the Marlow Film Studios update comes as Nandy’s government laid out the statutory instrument for the eagerly anticipated Independent Film Tax Credit on October 9. Buckinghamshire’s Pinewood Studios has, in response to the IFTC, announced its opening of a dedicated studio space for films looking to access the IFTC.
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