Recommendation 7

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government is aware of the number and severity of issues facing DCMS sectors - including cultural, sporting, and media organisations - as a result of rising inflation and energy prices. DCMS continues to work with our sectors, gathering robust evidence for those hardest hit. The Treasury led a review to consider how to support businesses with their energy costs after the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends. DCMS worked closely with its sectors to understand the challenges they are, and will be, facing, and ensured that BEIS and the Treasury were fully aware of those challenges when considering future support. This information was fed into the design of the Energy Bill Discount Scheme, which was announced in early January, and will come into force in April this year. The Energy Bill Discount Scheme provides broad support across the economy to businesses and charities, and will help them to manage high energy prices. In addition, the Treasury recognises that some non-domestic energy users in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are particularly vulnerable to high energy prices due to their energy-intensive nature and their trade exposure. Under this scheme, these sectors are being referred to as Energy and Trade Intensive Industries or ETIIs, and will receive a higher level of support, subject to a maximum discount. For DCMS, sectors covering museums, libraries, and historical sites and similar visitor attractions have been designated within this group. DCMS continues to engage constructively with industry to further understand and to help mitigate impacts. The Minister for Arts and Heritage has hosted roundtables with leading representatives from the cultural, and heritage, sectors, to discuss the challenges these sectors are facing, assess impacts, and identify possible mitigations. 31 https://www.np11.org.uk/2022/12/arts-culture-nature-heritage-and-environment-collaboration-could- add- 2–7bn-to-the-norths-economy Lastly, the Energy Security Strategy, published April 2022)32 set up a rapid review of barriers to installing energy efficiency measures in dwellings that are listed, and those in conservation areas. The work is being taken forward collaboratively by BEIS, DLUHC, and DCMS, and supported by Arms-Length Body Historic England. Findings will be reported in due course. Conclusion: It is a matter of serious concern that despite the UK’s status as home to successful, world-renowned creative industries, the sector is experiencing a significant and ongoing national skills shortage. This has compounded the issue of poor social mobility in the creative industries that successive governments have failed to address. Indeed, despite the Government’s recognition of the need to provide greater opportunities for people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds in the 2016 Culture White Paper, the creative industries remain among the worst for social mobility. We find it incredible that the UK cannot deliver on the provision of skills needed to meet the employment needs of the sector and equip our potential future creatives with the best possible opportunities to succeed. This shortage must be addressed if the UK is to maintain its status as a stalwart in arts and culture in future. (Paragraph 78) Current working arrangements within the creative industries, such as the emphasis on freelancing and volunteer work, lack of work experience opportunities and need to relocate to London and the South East, are anathema to the aspirations of levelling up people’s prospects across the UK. We are particularly concerned by reports of poor working conditions experienced by people working in the creative industries, and how they have contributed to the low levels of social mobility and inclusivity of the sector. (Paragraph 84)