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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of neurodivergent workers on the creative industries; and what steps she is taking to improve data collection, access, progression and workplace support for those workers.

The continued success of the creative industries is dependent on the diverse people who work within them, and we value and support the potential of neurodivergent workers and their impact on the creative industries. Whilst we already publish employment data broken down by disability status in the creative industries, the Creative Industries Sector Plan committed DCMS to tackling barriers to data collection. We will continue to work with industry to develop new data and evidence and improve access to official statistics, evidence and data, both of which are important to understand representation of neurodiverse people in our creative sectors.

Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we work closely with the Disability and Access Ambassador for the creative industries to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the industry for disabled people. We also committed in our Sector Plan to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service, to raise awareness of creative careers and support young people from all backgrounds. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, ensuring inclusive access for young people outside major urban centres, including those with SEND or other access considerations. Our Creative Careers Programme work experience pilot successfully engaged a diverse and inclusive group of young people, with 81% of the young people who completed a placement in the last year having identified access or additional needs.

The government can't achieve our goals alone, which is why we work closely with the sector to improve inclusivity, through the Creative Industries Council, and our continued support for the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA). We have been pleased to see vital industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity, such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve diversity and representation, and create career opportunities for all.