The Scottish parliament needs YOU.
The Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Tourism committee has announced that it has launched an investigation into the economic impact of the creative industries in Scotland – using the country’s games and film/television industries as key sectors.
The committee will explore:
- The role of public sector agencies and the effectiveness of the support they provide;
- The role of the private sector in supporting the video games and the TV and film sectors;
- How the issues that hinder the growth of creative industries can be overcome and how to capitalise on opportunities;
- How to retain those with the necessary creative skills in Scotland;
- How to develop business skills for those in the TV and film and videos games industries;
- Examples of international strategies for growing these sectors.
The Committee has today issued a call for views, and would like to hear from those with an interest in the sector and its contribution to Scotland’s economy and cultural heritage.With an annual turnover estimated at over £12 billion and almost 130,000 people working in the creative industries sector there is no doubt that this is a sector that punches well above its weight.
It is a diverse industry covering a wide range of businesses. Our Committee will focus on how the video games and film and TV sectors currently perform and what more needs to be done to grow these industries. We are particularly interested to hear about the type of support that these industries receive and how effective it is at helping them grow in a sustainable way and move into new markets.
The issue of support for and lack of understanding of the games sector in the Scottish national media was, once again illustrated by The Scotsman’s arts editor, who ran a news piece about the committee, under the headline Major Inquiry Into The State Of Scottish Film Industry, managing to miss out a full 50% of the investigation’s remit.
(We are, of course, aware of the irony of mentioning this in a piece with a headline which fails to mention the film sector, but hey, you know, par for the course with Scottish journalism…)
Any companies or individuals who would like to submit evidence can do so individually, using the these guidelines.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the Scottish Games Network’s industry-wide response should contact brian.baglow@scottishgames.net (having first read the the committee guidelines).
Evidence must be submitted by Thursday 8th January 2015.
