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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the soft skills children and adults can develop through playing video games, and whether these can improve employment prospects.

The government is committed to supporting the growth of the UK’s video games sector, and this includes considering the impact of the sector’s activities and the economic, cultural and social benefits it brings across the UK.

Research conducted by the National Literacy Trust shows that gaming can support the development of skills like creativity, communication and literacy. These skills are particularly important for employability and serve not only creative industries, but prepare people for jobs across the whole economy - in 2020, there were 1,297,000 people in creative occupations outside of the creative industries.

To support the sector to thrive and continue developing soft skills in individuals, the government has announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for 2025/26. This will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates. Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, UK Global Screen Fund, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.