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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the contribution to Bradford's economy made by the (a) digital sector, (b) animation industry, (c) fashion and textiles industry and (d) games industry.

While there are little economic statistics available on individual cities such as Bradford broken down by detailed industries there are estimates of employment from the ONS Business Registers and Employment Survey (BRES). This survey reports that in 2013 there were around 6,200 jobs in Bradford the digital sector (which incorporates ICT and Media) and 1,400 in the manufacture of textiles, clothing and footwear. Employment figures for animation and the computer games industry in Bradford are not available.

Bradford has a rich textiles history, particularly for the production of fine wool fabric. The textiles sector is still important to Bradford today with companies engaged in a wide range of activities – from spinning and weaving to the production of high performance and high value added goods. I am pleased Government has been able, through the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) programme, to support the creation and safeguarding of jobs in textile businesses through the national Textiles Growth Programme. 11 Bradford-based businesses have been assisted to date, with investment in capital projects, skills training and research and development. The Textiles Growth Programme was granted a further tranche of RGF funding earlier this year – bringing total Government investment to £32.3m – giving more Bradford companies the opportunity to secure support for innovation and growth.