At a roundtable event I hosted in February in Lewisham Deptford with local representatives from the creative industries, many agreed that Brexit poses a major risk to the sustainability of the UK arts sector. A particular cause of concern was the potential loss of funding from EU creative programmes.

I recently met with representatives from Creative Europe, a European Union programme which develops and promotes projects in the cultural and creative sectors. Following on from this, I asked several written questions to Jeremy Wright, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport regarding the future of Creative Europe. The answer to these questions is below.

I am pleased that the government have recognised the financial and cultural advantages of membership of Creative Europe, however I am very disappointed that they have made absolutely no solid commitments to either continuing the UK’s membership of Creative Europe or matching its funding. As I argued in a recent letter to Jeremy Wright (https://www.vickyfoxcroft.org.uk/policy-response/international-affairs/2019/03/07/brexit-and-the-creative-industries-roundtable/), the creative industries have been largely ignored in Brexit negotiations, despite their reliance on European markets and the massive financial contributions they make to the UK economy. The government must do more to protect the creative industries as the UK prepares to leave the European Union and I will continue to hold them to account over this.