David Puttnam: We must not waste the asset of Britain’s creative greatness

ONE of the early and important achievements of the previous Labour government was to put the creative industries firmly on the map, and to put in place effective policies which helped those industries to grow.
London Olympic GamesLondon Olympic Games
London Olympic Games

That is one reason, for example, why the film industry is now able to contribute £4.6bn to the GDP of this country – something like five times the comparable figure 20 years ago.

As I have argued previously, the creative industries are sustainable and offer added value in a way that is simply not true of, for example, the financial services.

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Later this year, we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the National Lottery and perhaps it is time that we took a fresh look at how the proceeds of the Lottery are distributed so as to ensure that the arts, as one of the good causes, really is getting the greatest possible share.

Few would argue that the opening ceremony of last year’s London Olympics was anything other than a wonderful showcase for the energy and creativity of this country.

That is why it grieves me to predict that history is likely to condemn us for what I believe to be our failure to build a significant legacy off the back of that extraordinary opportunity.

Why does having the drive and determination to capitalise on the economic contribution offered by this nation’s creativity matter so much?

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It matters because other countries are investing considerable sums of money in their own cultural activity and they realise the impact it has on their reputations and their economic growth. Unless we are determined dramatically to raise our own game, we are likely to be condemning ourselves to the status of one of the global also ran’s.

Am I exaggerating? How about this for an example of seriousness of intent: about a dozen years ago, the South Korean government, including their educational system, became concerned that while their industrial base was growing well, the creativity, within which so much intellectual property and value added reside, was not developing at anything like the same rate. They decided to invest around $1bn over a number of years in developing and enhancing what was termed their creative capacity. This programme has been an unqualified success, to the point at which South Korea is now the powerhouse of the entire Asian entertainment products industry; everything from music, to movies, interactive games and television soap operas.

Far from becoming complacent, this year their Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport has been given a budget $3.5bn, of which $295m is specifically earmarked for the promotion on the international stage of what they call Hallyu, or the Korean wave of entertainment products. That is almost $300m simply for its international promotion. That is a very grown-up and serious competitor for the UK to think about taking on.

Here at home, grant-in-aid is obviously in short supply. That is why Lottery investment has become all the more important in nurturing and developing arts and culture, and driving the kind of innovation that we will need if we are to prove a match for the ambitions of South Korea, Singapore and other Asian nations.

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However, we have another fantastic asset which we can draw upon to maximise our contribution to the arts. I refer, of course, to the BBC, which has been one of the cornerstones of support for every kind of art form – music, dance, drama – over many decades.

The BBC’s current charter expires at the end of 2016 and, as with the Lottery, I argue that this represents a perfect opportunity to review the way in which the corporation supports the nation’s cultural output, and to explore ways in which that contribution can be made even stronger and more effective, notably by helping to invest in new talent and new skills, both of which we are already desperately in need of.

Unless industry and government find ways of working together to invest in our skill and talent base, we will all too quickly become unfit for purpose in a digital world that is changing with quite ferocious speed.

I also think that we will need to find new ways to help support the arts. As many of you will be aware, there is enormous growth in the gambling industry, particularly online gambling, perhaps even, to some extent, displacing money spent on our National Lottery.

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I would like to think that the proceeds of a point of consumption tax on online gambling could, for example, be used to supplement the nation’s investment in arts, sport and culture.

Many of the companies that operate in the online gaming space are based offshore, therefore making very little contribution to the overall, long-term prosperity of the country.

By finding an effective way to use the proceeds of an enhanced tax on gambling to support arts and sport, we would be harnessing what may well prove to be a worrying rise in gambling activity, and allow it to become something which is of economic, social and cultural value to the nation as a whole.

Obviously, any such proposal would require total cross-party support. However, I think we would be making a massive mistake if we were to allow the Gambling Bill currently passing through Parliament to gain Royal Assent without at least considering its implications and the possibilities that I have just suggested.

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I cannot close without reminding the country that the value of the arts and culture can never simply be reduced to economics.

Forty years ago, conversations, and even policies regarding the arts and culture, were focused almost entirely on their social and educational value. By drawing attention to what we now call the creative industries, we managed to make the case that they were also making a significant economic contribution to the nation.

However, I am concerned that this Government is in danger of allowing the pendulum to swing too far in the direction of measurement by balance sheet. This was exemplified for me by a recent speech by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Maria Miller) in which arts and culture appeared to be viewed almost exclusively through an economic prism.

Important as their monetary contribution is, the value of arts and culture can never be reduced to pounds, shillings and pence. They represent something infinitely more valuable than that.

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They are one of the cornerstones of any society that wishes to consider itself truly civilised – the one important means by which we are able to improve the quality of life for every single member of society – and in debating their economic value, it is very important that we never allow ourselves to forget that.

David Puttnam is a leading light of the British film industry and a Labour peer who spoke in a Parliamentary debate on the future of the arts.