‘Our creative exports shape our identity around the globe’
● A ‘no deal’ or ‘bad deal’ will reduce a stream of vital talent to a trickle and exacerbate a skills shortage
the kind of nationalist rhetoric that belongs to another era”
A “no deal” or “bad deal” Brexit, coupled with the UK’S highly restrictive non-eu immigration system, will reduce this stream of vital talent to a trickle and exacerbate our already-existing domestic skills shortages. In a recent Creative Industries Federation survey, 74 per cent of creative enterprises said that restricting immigration will limit their capacity to do business.
The nature of the creative industries means that they are constantly in flux, with creative workers moving regularly across borders. Orchestras such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra organise global tours and the Edinburgh International salary requirement. In our sector, highly skilled does not always mean highly paid. Many roles in the creative industries do not command the required salary of £30,000 and creative SMES would face a significant financial burden if they were forced to meet this.
The introduction of a highly restrictive immigration system after Brexit would be highly damaging for our creative industries, leading to higher costs and less flexibility for creative organisations. That said, the risk for mobility of talent following a no-deal Brexit would be even greater. In that case, the free movement of EU creatives into the UK would simply stop after 29 March 2019 and the UK’S current non-eu immigration system would apply – a hugely troubling prospect.
At a time when many creative enterprises are considering moving part or all of their operations abroad, the UK must remain a genuinely welcoming place to live, work, study, invest and do business. This requires an open and flexible EU system and reforms to existing non-eu immigration rules (such as the introduction of a creative freelance visa) so that creative organisations are able to bring in the international talent that is so vital to their continued success.
The Creative Industries Federation, which represents, champions and supports our worldleading creative industries, will continue to fight for the best possible deal for our sector while ensuring that our members have the information they need to prepare for what is sure to be a future full of uncertainties. For government to fail to protect the success of our creative industries postbrexit would be to jeopardize the strength of our UK economy as a whole. ●Samuel Young is deputy head of policy and public affairs at the Creative Industries Federation