Creative Industries: Freelance Champion

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The Government and particularly DCMS strongly welcomed our noble friend Lady Hodge’s review of Arts Council England. It is an excellent read, which I commend to any noble Lords who have not read it. We are planning to publish our full response later this year, but we are already looking in detail at how our noble friend’s recommendations could be worked through.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, Minister Murray in the other place is driving success for creative industries in Liverpool but relies on government funding. As we have just heard, the Arts Council has advised, quite rightly, that a mixed-economy model, which combines public funding and private investment, produces the optimum outcome. Is DCMS working with the Treasury to make it easy for companies to invest and give them some kind of tax break incentive, the net result being positive for the sector and economic growth?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

There are a number of tax incentives within the system currently. We are very clear that there is significant investment in creative industries in this country. I outlined some of those in relation to the rollout of the sector plan. We are very confident that we are working across government on the issues that the noble Earl raised.