A guide to the government’s digital and technologies sector plan for West of England creative businesses
Alongside its new Industrial Strategy for the next 10 years, the government has published five sector-specific plans.
We’ve outlined the creative industries sector plan here and in this article, we outline what’s in the digital and technologies sector plan for creative businesses.
Bristol is mentioned 11 times in the plan. That includes references to the Isambard-AI supercomputer at University of Bristol, the ScienceCreates engineering biology accelerator, the city’s semiconductor design cluster and NVIDIA’s recent decision to expand its AI lab in Bristol.
It also includes this:
The British Business Bank (BBB) is committing an additional £4bn of growth capital to the eight sectors of focus in the industrial strategy, which includes the digital and technologies sector and the creative industries.
West of England is one of 10 regions in which BBB will launch a new “Cluster Champions” programme through which “individuals with deep expertise and local knowledge will coordinate investment-readiness programmes, strengthen financial networks, and connect high-potential firms” in the eight Industrial Strategy sectors.
The BBB will also double its investment in new fund managers, and make direct investments of up to £60m in “strategically important companies”.
The government announced at the Spending Review that BBB’s overall yearly investments will increase by around two thirds, bringing its total financial capacity to £25.6bn.
The government will address regulatory and non-regulatory barriers to lending to IP-rich SMEs, by establishing a new working group of relevant departments and authorities, businesses, commercial banks and other financial institutions.
The Spending Review has confirmed that funding for R&D will reach £22.6 billion a year in 2029/30.
The government says it will “reform and streamline UKRI funding routes to make it easier for businesses to navigate different funding streams and reducing the length of time between applications and funding decisions”. Innovate UK will also increase the proportion of its investments which are joint with private sector.
The government will deliver a new TechFirst skills programme aimed at reaching up to one million young people and provide over 4,500 undergraduate bursaries, Masters’ placements and PhD opportunities for domestic students to support them into the tech workforce.
The sector plan said digital and technology businesses rely on specialist skills, but there are mismatches between demand and supply. In 2022, there were approximately 130,000 STEM and 13,500 digital vacancies due to skills shortages.
New technical excellence colleges will be set with the aim of increasing specialist and practical skills.
Skills England will publish analysis on sector skills needs and work with employers to co-design solutions to address skills needs.
The government will introduce short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, in areas such as digital, AI, and engineering.
The independent AI Opportunities Action Plan was published earlier this year, and the government has accepted all 50 recommendations. The Spending Review announced £2 billion to deliver the plan.
A new AI Adoption Fund and regional business support will provide businesses with advice on integrating AI into their operations.
There is a big debate around copyright and AI in the creative industries. The government published a consultation on how “the UK’s legal framework for AI and copyright supports the UK creative industries and AI sector together”. The sector plan says:
“Delivering an AI and copyright framework that supports AI development in the UK. The government wants to support rightsholders in licensing their work in the digital age while allowing AI developers to benefit from access to creative material in the United Kingdom. The right approach here will unlock new opportunities for innovation across the whole economy.
“The government is analysing responses to the consultation on delivering a copyright and AI framework, looking at all options. The government recognises the need for this to be done properly and carefully in a considered, measured and reasoned way, to develop any future proposals. The government will set out a detailed economic impact assessment on all options under consideration and a report on the use of copyright material for AI training, transparency and technical standards.
“This analysis will inform the government’s position, alongside a series of expert working groups to bring together people from both the AI and creative sectors on the issues of transparency, licensing and other technical standards to chart a way forward.”
The government has previously announced that £18m will be provided to the new TechLocal scheme which offer seed funding to help regional innovators and small businesses develop new tech products and adopt AI. A panel made up of local tech businesses will be established in each region to decide which applications have merit, with the necessary checks then done centrally by Innovate UK.
The government will provide support to start-ups through an initial £6 million for the Cyber Runway accelerator to support 60 start-ups annually with mentoring, skills development and access to networks.
Experts at University of Bristol will provide independent advice for the government’s Cyber Growth Action Plan to be published in summer 2025.
Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network that supports the region's creative sector to learn, grow and connect, driven by the common belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone.
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