“A self-imposed injury”: UK industry reacts to budget cuts at Department of Culture, Media and Sport | News

Key figures in the UK inventive industries have expressed dismay at cuts to the budget of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced yesterday (June 11) as part of the government’s spending review.

These include a cut in real terms to its capital budget of 2.8% for the 2025/26 to 2029/30 period. The capital spending is money for investment and creation of future growth, and will be remaining constant at £700m, from 2024-5 until 2029-30. 

“A real-terms cut for DCMS is the wrong choice by the chancellor,” said Caroline Dinenage, chair of the influential culture, media and sports committee and a Conservative member of parliament.

“There are also the huge unanswered questions of how the department is going to manage these cuts, and what parts of culture, media and sport will be made to bear the brunt of them.”

Ellie Peers, general secretary of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, added: “The inventive industries – worth £125bn to the UK economy – have been identified as one of eight growth sectors by the government in its Industrial Strategy, so it is puzzling to see the DCMS facing a real terms cut. It is a development that raises solemn alarm bells, as the freelance writing community cannot sustain any further cuts, especially considering the threat AI already poses to their incomes.

“If the government is to stay true to its stated mission of harnessing our creative industries as a driver of growth, then it must invest accordingly. And if it is to deliver on its promise for working people, this must include our writer members, who power this world-leading sector.”

Equity’s general secretary Paul W. Fleming said: “Today’s cuts are a self-imposed injury to a growth-driving sector of our economy, showing this government is deeply confused about the arts.

“One day they are hailing our sectors as critical to economic growth in their industrial strategy. The next they are announcing real terms cuts to the culture department in their spending review. One day they are emphasising the importance of exporting our inventive sectors across the world, the next they are trying to hand UK content over to multinational AI companies for free.

“Equity demands an urgent reset for the UK arts and entertainment, with a fresh strategy focused on investment, growth and creators’ rights.

“It is the creative workforce which provides the value to the creative industries. It is time for the government to recognise them.”

The BFI, which is a DCMS arms-length body substantially funded by DCMS grant-in-aid, declined Screen’s request for comment.

Reduction

The DCMS cuts will see a 1.2% reduction in real terms to the department’s resource budget from 2025-26 to 2028-29, which represents a 2% cut in real terms from 2023-4 to 2025-6. This budget accounts for the department’s day-to-day resources and administration costs. It will augment to £2bn from in 2028-9 from £1.5bn in 2025-6, however represents a cut in real terms owing to expected inflation.

The DCMS will see its staffing budget cut by 15% by the end of the decade. This is in line with cuts to administrative budgets in many other government departments, such as health and social care, education, the home office, justice and defence.

The review does promise “transformative capital investment” for the likes of culture, heritage, youth and sports infrastructure, investing more than £2.9bn to “safeguard and modernise much-loved cultural and heritage institutions in towns and cities, while expanding access to local sport and physical activity”.

The inventive industries have previously been identified by the Labour government as one of the UK’s eight key growth sectors. A inventive industry sector plan is anticipated to be published later this month.

“Promises of significant increases for the creative industries are welcome, although the detail needed to scrutinise this claim is lacking,” said Dinenage.

As part of the spending review, the chancellor also committed to £2bn investment in its AI action plan.