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Reviewing a Year's Worth of State of the Nation Addresses

Unveiled: The entirety of our fresh 'State of the Nations' sequence - employing studies to guide policymakers in aiding creative sectors throughout the United Kingdom

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Investigating a year's worth of State of the Union Addresses
Investigating a year's worth of State of the Union Addresses

Reviewing a Year's Worth of State of the Nation Addresses

UK Creative Sector Thriving but Faces Geographical and Demographic Challenges

The latest reports from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) offer valuable insights into the geographical distribution and global trade landscape of the UK's creative industries.

In the 'Geographies of Creativity' report, published in December 2023, it was found that the UK creative industries are markedly unevenly distributed geographically. Approximately 30% of creative workers are based in London, which generates the majority of the sector’s gross value added (GVA) — about 50.8% in 2022. Despite this, London accounts for only 23.7% of overall UK GVA. There are significant regional disparities in access to creative jobs and cultural experiences, with calls for redistribution of wealth and resources to widen participation outside London.

The cultural sector is somewhat more dispersed than the broader creative industries, yet London remains a clear hotspot of artistic activity and investment. To address these regional disparities, Creative PEC recommends implementing policies to increase investment outside London to bolster local creative ecosystems, strengthening devolution and support for regional cultural institutions, and fostering collaboration between creative hubs in different regions.

The 'UK Trade in a Global Creative Economy' report, published in March, highlights the creative industries' substantial contribution to the UK’s global trade footprint. The reports emphasize the importance of maintaining and expanding global creative trade to support economic growth and employment in the sector. Innovation, productivity improvements, and addressing barriers to international trade are critical to enhancing the UK creative industries' competitive edge globally.

Creative PEC's recommendations for addressing these challenges include enhancing support for innovation and adoption of new technologies in creative sectors, developing tailored trade policies and support mechanisms that address specific barriers faced by creative exporters, and promoting the UK's creative industries in international markets through strategic trade missions and partnerships.

The 'State of the Nations' series, published by Creative PEC, uses the latest data to inform policymakers on ways to support the creative industries across the four UK nations. Each thematic area is led by a research consortium partner, including the University of Sheffield for Arts, Culture + Heritage, Work Advance for Creative Education, Skills and Talent, Newcastle University for Internationalisation, and the University of Sussex for R&D, Innovation and Clusters.

Experimental data analysis suggests UK export growth in the video games sector accelerated during the pandemic, reaching a level in 2021 around 2.5 times greater than in 2016. However, occupations in the arts, culture, and heritage sectors have smaller fractions of heterosexual/straight people than the rest of the workforce. The report on audiences and workforces within parts of the arts, culture, and heritage sectors was published via an exclusive with Channel 4 News.

The next four State of the Nations reports are in the pipeline, covering R&D Innovation Finance (October 2024), Foreign Direct Investment (November 2024), Creative subjects in Higher Education (December 2024), and Creative Skills Monitor with a focus on employer perspectives (March 2025).

Creative PEC's work is supported by renewed five-year funding from the UKRI's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The organisation moved to a new twin-hub model in 2022, with a research unit at Newcastle University and a Policy Unit at RSA House, London. Creative PEC is the go-to source for independent evidence and policy advice to support the growth of the creative industries.

In 'Arts, Culture and Heritage: Audiences and Workforce', published in May, official data sets were used to provide in-depth insights into audiences and workforces. The data provides granular detail on the demographics of the arts, culture and heritage workforce by ethnicity, age, disability, gender, sexuality, and religion to help inform Equality, Diversity and Inclusion planning.

Creative PEC's reports underscore the need for targeted regional development and international trade facilitation strategies to sustain and grow the UK's creative economy. The creative service exports are robust and growing, representing 14% of all UK services exports in 2021, while the outlook for creative goods exports is stagnant. The UK appears to be the fourth largest exporter of video games in the world, with the US in pole position.

[1] Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (2023). Geographies of Creativity. London: Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.

[2] Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (2023). UK Trade in a Global Creative Economy. London: Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.

[3] Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (2023). Microclusters and Creative Industries: Evidence and Policy Implications. London: Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.

  1. The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) provides valuable insights into the geographical distribution and global trade landscape of the UK's creative industries.
  2. In the 'Geographies of Creativity' report, it was found that the UK creative industries are unevenly distributed geographically, with approximately 30% of creative workers based in London.
  3. Despite London generating the majority of the sector’s gross value added (GVA), there are significant regional disparities in access to creative jobs and cultural experiences.
  4. Creative PEC recommends implementing policies to increase investment outside London to bolster local creative ecosystems and address these regional disparities.
  5. The 'UK Trade in a Global Creative Economy' report highlights the creative industries' substantial contribution to the UK’s global trade footprint and stresses the importance of maintaining and expanding global creative trade.
  6. Innovation, productivity improvements, and addressing barriers to international trade are crucial to enhancing the UK creative industries' competitive edge globally.
  7. The State of the Nations series by Creative PEC uses the latest data to inform policymakers on ways to support the creative industries across the four UK nations.
  8. The reports cover various aspects, such as R&D Innovation Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Creative subjects in Higher Education, and Creative Skills Monitor with a focus on employer perspectives.
  9. An analysis of experimental data suggests UK export growth in the video games sector accelerated during the pandemic, reaching a level in 2021 around 2.5 times greater than in 2016.
  10. The UK creative service exports are robust and growing, representing 14% of all UK services exports in 2021, while the outlook for creative goods exports is stagnant.
  11. Creative PEC's work is supported by renewed five-year funding from the UKRI's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
  12. The arts, culture, and heritage sectors have smaller fractions of heterosexual/straight people than the rest of the workforce, as revealed in an analysis of official data sets in 'Arts, Culture and Heritage: Audiences and Workforce', published by Creative PEC.

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