Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support growth within the creative industries in the West Midlands.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan is a new 10-year plan to tackle barriers to growth and maximise opportunities across the creative industries sector, with the aim of making the UK the number one destination for creativity and innovation by 2035.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan includes a universal offer to drive growth in the creative industries in any place in the UK, outlining new measures to break down barriers such as access to finance, supply of skills, and new support to kickstart innovation.

The £150 million Creative Places Growth Fund is a new approach to supporting Creative Industries - devolving funding and empowering local leaders to grow the sector in 6 high-growth potential Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including the West Midlands. This will provide £25m to West Midlands Combined Authority to distribute, according to local barriers and opportunities.