£380m Govt plan to boost agencies but SMEs cry foul

UK agency body the IPA has joined the Advertising Association in throwing its weight behind the Government’s Industrial Strategy & the Creative Industries Sector Plan, but not everyone is putting up the bunting, with criticism that most small businesses “won’t see a penny”.

The strategy names advertising and marketing as one of the four ‘frontier’ creative sub-sectors with particularly high growth potential that the Government wants to prioritise, along with film/TV, video games, and music, performing and visual arts.

Among the themes set out in the £380m plan are enhancing skills and accelerating access to talent to tackle the skills gap in the creative industries (including developing apprenticeships and skills training that recognise the needs of the creative industries); supporting the growth of creative clusters around the UK; supporting the export of services from the UK; reforming public procurement to enable smaller agencies to navigate the procurement process for public sector advertising services; and addressing the AI/Copyright conundrum.

There is also the ambition to partner with creative trade associations, something the IPA has been doing and will continue to do.

IPA director of legal and public affairs Richard Lindsay said: “This is a really encouraging piece of work from the Government, not only because it recognises the importance of the advertising industry to the UK’s economy but because it includes initiatives that we have been asking for.

“Those include the need to ensure homegrown talent is properly skilled to be able to flourish in the ad industry, supporting exports, supporting creative clusters right across the UK and improving the public sector’s processes for the procurement of advertising services. We very much look forward to continuing to work with Government and helping it support the growth of the industry.”

However, business finance expert George Holmes, who is managing director of Aurora Capital is less enthusiastic on the broader industrial strategy.

He said: “While the new plan offers welcome news for large-scale companies, the vast majority of small businesses won’t see a penny. For smaller firms also battling high bills, long waits for grid connections and squeezed margins, it’s hard to feel like this is a strategy for them.

“These businesses are vital to local economies and supply chains across the country, yet they’ve been left waiting for the trickle-down. The Government talks about partnership with business, but the detail shows that focus remains heavily on large corporations.

“Measures like expanding British Business Bank capacity and backing the Made Smarter programme are steps in the right direction, but they won’t offset rising costs or provide the certainty many firms need to plan ahead.

“The long consultation periods and 2027 start dates won’t help cash-strapped SMEs make decisions today; they need practical support now.”