TIGA, the trade association representing the video games industry, said today that the Liberal Democrat pamphlet ‘The Power of Creativity, Recovery and Renewal’ set out a number of important policy measures relevant to the video games industry, including financial support, skills, training and education and negotiations with the EU.
The pamphlet provides a summary of the measures that the Liberal Democrats will be pressing Government to adopt in the coming weeks and months ahead, to provide support to the creative industries throughout the coronavirus crisis. The pamphlet follows a Creative Industries Roundtable held on 26 June 2020, whereby TIGA put forward the concerns of the video games industry to inform the report.
The key aspects of the report relevant for the video games industry are as follows:
- Short term support: Providing financial support to freelancers who have not been able to access the Government support schemes and supporting regional creative industries so that the money is spread across the UK.
- Education, training and skills: Ensuring universities and colleges have the funds to maintain high levels of tuition and can adapt to the loss of income from European and international students; amending the current apprenticeship scheme by reforming the apprenticeship levy to become a more general training levy; and continuing to engage in Horizon 2020 (or an alternative programme) to maintain funding and cross-border collaboration for crucial research and development.
- Trade negotiations with the EU: Negotiations should seek, as far as possible, to preserve the benefits of close co-operation with the other EU countries; such as the free flow of data and IP protection.
TIGA have also recommended resolving access to finance issues for games businesses through maintaining and enhancing Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR); introducing a Video Games Investment Fund (VGIF) and retaining and enhancing the UK Games Fund.
The report can be read in full here: Power of Creativity-Recovery and Renewal.