Written evidence submitted by The University of the West of Scotland

Introduction

The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) outlines its response below to the Scottish Select Affairs Committee on Creative Industries in Scotland’s request for Submissions. Employment for our students is a priority for the University of the West of Scotland and the university has a key role in contributing to the creative, civic and international culture of Scotland and as such is a stakeholder in the Scottish creative economy.

UWS is a multi-campus higher education institution that serves the populations of Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Hamilton and Dumfries as well as educating international students and students from the rest of the United Kingdom.

In 2010 the University was accredited by Skillset (now Creative Skillset) as a centre for excellence in creative industry education and the UWS Creative Media Academy, one of only 3 in Scotland, was established.

UWS Creative Media Academy students learn through modules taught by leading practitioners reflecting current industry ‘best practice’. Expertise across a range of interconnected disciplines is embedded across our different programmes including Television and Radio Broadcast Production, Film-making and Scriptwriting, Digital Art, Commercial Music and Music Technology, Performance, Broadcast Journalism, Computer Games Technology and Animation. 

The UWS Creative Media Academy is a leading institution not only of skills education and talent creation for its student body but also of skills provision for creative industry practitioners within the West of Scotland. A recent example of this commitment to supporting local industry in the west coast of Scotland is the digital skills education delivered by UWS as a partner in the EU-funded Honeycomb Creative Works programme throughout 2014-15.

Many of the responses below are therefore born not only from UWS experience as a provider of higher education in the creative industries but also from experience as an active participant in the generation of skills, ideas, content and business within the creative industries within the constituencies that we serve.

Whilst the majority of UWS graduates and local practitioners find employment and markets within Scotland, our approach to the creative industries is resolutely international and our philosophy is to link the local to the global.

We would summarise our responses as follows:

• Growth in the creative industries in Scotland is currently slower than the rest of the UK.
• To address this disparity of growth, specifically in the film and television sectors this report recommends increasing employment opportunities in Scotland through:
• Improved access to UK and international markets and supporting the sector to operate transnationally
• Encouraging and supporting innovation in business models
• Supporting content development process to generate intellectual property
• Securing rights to intellectual property
• Increasing volume of independent Film and TV productions in Scotland
• Creating a sustainable film industry through tax relief incentives, creation of a film studio and increased production investment
• Creating a sustainable television industry through increased access to domestic network and international markets
• Improving connectivity and high speed broadband access supported by policy to maximise growth opportunities

Creative Industries: Scotland and the UK - Response

What is the footprint and economic value of the creative industries in Scotland?

A report by DC Research first published in 2012 has calculated that the creative industries in Scotland have a value of £3.2 billion per year to the Scottish economy.[1]

Whilst there remains debate surrounding the exact definition of the creative industries employed in the report and more widely over the methodologies used to calculate the final figure,[2] this report would nevertheless seem to evidence a significant increase from the figure of £2.8 billion put forward by Creative Scotland’s 2011 report.[3]

Such growth would also appear to be supported by the most recent January 2015 NESTA report that calculates that between 2011-13, 105,000 people in Scotland were employed in the Creative Industries (page 23).

However, whilst, “the creative economy has been growing most rapidly in areas outside London between 2011-2013, particularly in the East of England, West Midlands, North East, and Yorkshire and the Humberside. Scotland is the only area where the creative economy has shrunk.’ (page 72).

This conclusion requires further analysis, and it has been stated by one commentator that ‘given employment in the UK creative economy is growing at 4.3% per annum, 3.6 times faster than the UK workforce as a whole (1.2% per annum) Scotland is losing out on almost all of these new jobs, compensated for by doing very well in the high-tech sector (5.1% p.a.) which across the UK is growing at a more modest 2.1%.”[4]

This analysis thus calls attention to the sector specific nature of the growth in the Scottish creative economy, arguing that the high tech sector success story occludes what otherwise has been a period of stagnancy for other sectors of the creative industries in Scotland.

How does this compare to the UK as a whole?

The department for Culture, Media and Sport calculated in 2014 that the creative industries in the UK are worth around £71.4 billion per year.[5] More recent figures from 2015, claim additional growth and argue that there value to the UK is now £76.9 billion per year, generating an impressive £8.8 million per hour for the UK economy.[6]

Leaving aside pertinent questions relating to definitions and methodologies, based on the above calculations, Scotland’s creative economy would seem to represent less than 4% of the overall UK creative economy. When crudely compared to the percentage of the UK population that Scotland occupies 8.4%, this figure would appear to be half of what it should be.[7]

Such simplistic calculations do not of course take into account the geographic, socio-economic or cultural factors that might affect this distribution of value and economic performance across the UK. Within the UK more generally the above reports remain consistent in identifying London as the largest and single most valuable zone of creative industry activity. This factor has led commentators to suggest that London’s dominance has resulted in a detrimental drain of creative industry talent from Scotland to the UK capital.[8]

How do the creative industries in Scotland differ to the creative industries in the UK as a whole?

What makes the creative industries distinctive in Scotland includes their heritage and traditions, the part they play in supporting rural economies and the distinctive cultural and political context in which they operate. Mainly, though not exclusively, they consist of small companies, sole practitioners, micro and small businesses, co-operatives and social enterprises. This presents challenges in relation to monetising assets and outputs and, more bluntly, cash flow issues.

Scotland is nevertheless well-represented in content production. In particular, there is a strong and growing cluster of television production companies such as IWC Media, Shed, Tern, the Comedy Unit and world class games developers including Realtime Worlds, Rockstar North and Denki working across console, online and mobile platforms. The Scottish film and animation industry is also notable for its critically acclaimed output.

Any industrial strategy for the creative industries in Scotland should therefore be centred on a set of policies and interventions that maximise opportunities to build on this talent base to generate a higher volume of content (films, television, radio, digital etc..) and to enable greater UK domestic market share and international reach.

The academic community in Scotland is also a key strength with clusters of world-leading expertise in the metropolitan centres of Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh as well as rural networks in the Highland and Islands and the southwest. HEIs are creative hubs in their own right with the added advantage of scale and R&D capacity that can be channelled to support new company start-ups in the creative and cultural sector.

How effectively do the UK, Scottish and local governments work together to promote the creative industries of Scotland at home and abroad?

There has been considerable disquiet within certain sectors of the creative industries for several years concerning the inability of the lead agencies for the creative industries in Scotland, namely Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise, to effectively work together.

As can be demonstrated from the evidence provided to the 2014-15 Scottish Parliamentary committee on the economic impact of the creative industries, the main sectors that have voiced discontent are the film, television, animation and games sectors.[9]

Whilst the committee has made several recommendations in its published report,[10] several of which are currently in the process of being delivered, there remains a continued sense that the central dichotomy of the creative industries in Scotland; that they are both an economic and cultural activity, is not sufficiently supported by the existing institutional infrastructure.

In the case of the Scottish film industry this can be exemplified through a number of interventions made by Independent Producers Scotland, the lobbying group representing Scottish film producers.[11] Since its inception in 2014 the group has called for greater levels of investment to made available through Creative Scotland and the ability to access alternative funds. To date Scottish Enterprise has failed to apply for ERDF funds that would increase the volume of funds available to the sector. Specifically in respect of UK institutions, the British Film Institute funds whilst theoretically available to Scottish producers, are considered difficult to access due in large part to the lack of BFI representation in Scotland.

Scottish television producers share a similar predicament in that they also suffer from a lack of access to UK network commissioners and furthermore there is concern that many London based production companies that have created Scottish production bases have been winning a considerable number the regional quota commissions. This situation in and of itself would not necessarily be cause for alarm if the regional branch offices of these companies hired significant numbers of regional production crew and staff, however as the programme credits will attest, the majority of crew continue to come from outside Scotland.

A recent intervention from the Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon reprising the call for a Scottish Broadcasting Corporation[12] at the 2015 Edinburgh International Television Festival was met with considerable support. The proposal echoed internal BBC discussions to allow for greater regional autonomy and commissioning spend, a proposal shelved owing apparently to financial pressures.[13] In the post-independence referendum context, there is widespread recognition that the corporation failed to sufficiently represent the concerns of the population and as the licence fee collected is in the realm of £320million with an estimated production spend of only £87million, the continuing disparity of production investment will ensure that calls for reform of the BBC in Scotland will continue.[14]

What are the barriers to the growth of the creative industries in Scotland, and how can these be overcome?


The lack of a dedicated film studio in Scotland is considered by the majority of film producers to be one of the most significant barriers to a transformative period of growth in the Scottish industry. For a sustainable Scottish film industry to exist, requires a regular level of production activity. The sporadic nature of production that currently exists, with the exception of the US TV series Outlander, results in a precarious livelihood for many of those involved in the industry should they remain in Scotland. Many skilled film practitioners when confronted with this lack reliable work leave Scotland and either move to London or abroad.

The complaint from local filmmakers such as the members of the Scottish Association of Film and Television Practitioners is that there is no lack of talent in Scotland, only a lack of opportunity, that means that often when large scale productions do arrive they can discover that there are insufficient Scottish based crew available The creation of a film studio and associated post-production facilities, whilst not a stand alone solution to the lack of growth in the industry, would nevertheless be a significant keystone in the ability to increase the volume and value of productions taking place in Scotland.

Whilst increased production in Scotland could lead to a skills shortage this need not necessarily be the case and the integration of creative industry policy with higher education skills provision through the Creative Skillset network, combined with funding council support, could ensure a sufficiently talented workforce graduating in sufficient numbers on regular basis.  The economic value of the creative arts and the importance of emerging and pervasive technologies need greater promotion in curricular provision.

Additionally, the lack of skills is directly linked to a lack of opportunity. This is evident within the television production sector where an effective ‘glass ceiling’ can exist. Practitioners who do not have the requisite ‘UK network credit’ on their CV are often not considered sufficiently experienced to take on such roles. Clearly this approach is self perpetuating and if not local filmmakers are given the opportunity to ‘step up’ into network production then the talent base will continue to be perceived as lacking in experience.

Institutions such as the BBC could assist Scottish crew by both insisting that that ‘regional’ productions source the majority of their crew form Scottish based practitioners or responding to any perceived lack of skills by creating talent schemes that allow domestic crew to work on network productions, thus assisting in the creation of a wider Scottish talent pool with both the experience and broadcast credit required to reassure external producers.

The television production sector in Scotland also suffers from an over reliance on the BBC and limited opportunities to work with international broadcasters. Whilst organisations such as the TRC and the Scottish Documentary Institute offer valuable training in international co-production, without a funding commitment from local broadcasters to invest in co-productions, there remains an extremely limited number of opportunities available.

This lack of investment in co-production relates to the question of the wider media ecology in Scotland and whether more should be done to recognize the distinctive cultural context of the Scottish nation. This is to argue that rather than seek only to win a larger share of the existing media economy in the UK, Scotland needs greater support to create a new ecology that views smaller European nations as a model for development and growth and seeks to create content for a European and international market. Films, television productions and digital media, that are not only broadcast and consumed internationally but that are also recognized as communicating through their storytelling and artistic form, the distinctive cultural context within which they have been created.

The achievements of the Nordic noir television dramas such as The Killing and Borgen can be seen as useful examples of culturally distinctive artistic forms of storytelling that are also internationally commercially successful.

Increasing the originality, quality and volume of creative content being produced in Scotland requires a sustained commitment to creating the conditions most likely to lead to such creative collaborations.

Existing examples of creative clusters such as the media quarter in Glasgow where the BBC, STV, Film City Glasgow and Creative Clyde are based should be supported with a range of development and production support. The creative hubs can act as creative catalysts for new talent, the generation of intellectual property and the backbone of a creative industry infrastructure that can support inward investment such as large scale international productions.

Higher education institutions also have a key role to play in this creative media ecology, and the previous Creative Skillset academy which included the University of the West of Scotland, Abertay University, Edinburgh Napier University should supported and rejuvenated. The geographic spread of this network of centres of excellence answers the need to provide an equality of access to media education and advanced practice skills training throughout Scotland. Combined with specialist institutions such as the Royal Conservatoire and the Glasgow School of Art, the higher education sector should be should be recognized as providing a key context within which industry and talent can be combined.

Positive examples of where this already takes place are the STV local television partnerships with higher education institutions that support the delivery of STV Glasgow, Edinburgh and in 2016 STV Ayr. The existence of Creative Skillset Scotland network provides a mechanism for industry and higher education to interact and as the Scottish creative industry economy expands and flourishes it would be beneficial to support this network further in its endeavors.

What, if any, changes need to be made to enable the creative industries to capitalise on their Intellectual Property?

Improved access to sources of funding, and thus increased investment in Scottish film productions would allow Scottish producers to retain a greater percentage of rights.

Co-production treaties to that facilitate such rights retention in both film, television and digital content production would support this.

What can the UK Government do to create an environment which encourages growth in the creative industries in Scotland?

The UK government, working closely with the Scottish executive, should work to create a long term strategy for the creative industries in Scotland that recognizes both the advantages of access to the UK institutions and market and the specific challenges and opportunities of the Scottish context.

Such a strategy should be supported by policies that enable the establishment of an international production infrastructure (including a film studio, post-production facilities, creative clusters and talent pipelines) and provide incentives for both inward investment and international co-productions.

Support is also required to increase broadband access and connectivity across large areas of Scotland and to prevent an over concentration of the creative industries within the central belt of Scotland.[15]

How could the system of tax reliefs for the creative industries better encourage growth of these industries in Scotland?


Tax relief is Scotland should be at a higher rate than England in recognition of the need to boost production. The rate should be at least equivalent to competitor nations and regions in Europe.

What, if any, tailored support is needed for the creative industries in Scotland?

Proposals to allow cinema VAT receipts to be used as an additional production fund as is the case in Denmark should be given due consideration.

VAT accounts for 17.4% of potential Scottish Public Sector revenues (the third most important source behind Income Tax and National Insurance). Total UK VAT revenues were £83.6 billion in 2009-10, if Scottish VAT was collected separately it is estimated the nations share would be about 8.8%, roughly in line with its population size. Independent Producers Scotland have suggested that if 0.3% of these VAT receipts were set aside to create a production fund this would create a £23 million fund that would bring Scotland into line with production funds in similar sized European nations.[16]

Written evidence submitted by Professor Nick Higgins (Director of the Creative Media Academy) and Anne Gifford (Associate Dean for International, School of Media, Culture & Society) at the University of the West of Scotland.

3 September 2015

NB

Declaration of interest

Professor Higgins is one of the founding members of Independent Producers Scotland (IPS), a lobbying grouping of 45 Scottish film producers first constituted in 2014 with a declared aim to increase the level of investment and opportunities for the Scottish Film industry. Professor Higgins is also a member of the advisory board for the Pacific Quay Scottish Film Studio bid – currently under consideration by Scottish Enterprise. Since September 2013, Professor Higgins has been Director of the UWS Creative Media Academy.

In addition to his academic career Professor Higgins has been an active member of the Scottish creative economy since 2001, having produced award winning television and film productions through securing commissions and attracting investment from BBC Scotland, STV, Creative Scotland and European broadcasters amongst others.