We have issued a briefing to MPs ahead of a backbench debate in the House of Commons on support for the UK’s creative industries and their contribution to the economy taking place today, Thursday 7 July,

Key points  include:

• Scotland’s Creative Industries contribute significantly to the economy, employing 68,500 people across more than 8,000 businesses and generating GVA of £3.06bn.
• The creative industries are inherently knowledge intensive industries. As such they are a critical component of the wider knowledge  economy.
• Creative industries thrive on high level skills and are dependent on a well- educated workforce.
• Universities are a rich source of that talent as the creative industries employ a higher proportion of graduates than  the economy as a whole.
• More than half (59.9 per cent) of jobs in the Creative Industry in 2015 were filled by people with at least a degree or equivalent, compared to 32.7 per cent of all jobs in the UK.
• In 2015, 1 in 11 jobs in the UK held by graduates was in the Creative Industries.
• Between 2014 and 2015, there was an increase of 24,000 (2.2 per cent) in the number of jobs in the Creative Industries held by individuals with at least a degree or equivalent.
• Across all industries in 2015, 62.5 per cent of jobs in Creative Occupations were filled by someone who had at least a degree or equivalent.
• Research Impact – university research is a crucial source of new ideas and practices that drive innovation in the creative economy.

Read our brief for the debate here: