government

Games industry visits 10 Downing Street.

Senior games and esport industry figures, including Ukie CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE, Ukie Chair, Noirin Carmody and representatives from PlayStation, ESL, SEGA, Team Dignitas, Ninja Theory, Media Molecule and more, attended a Creative Industries reception last night at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the Prime Minister. 

Creative Industries Sector Deal

The long awaited Creative Industries Sector Deal was launched today on a wet, dark Wednesday morning just before the Easter Recess.

Ukie sets out four key asks for the Autumn Budget

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond announced last Autumn that the Government would be moving to a single fiscal event each year, doing away with the familiar twice yearly event. The move was welcomed by business groups and economists for helping to promote more certainty and stability.

This week, following an employer consultation Ukie responded to, the Department for Education has published the details of the funding rates and rules that will apply to the apprenticeship levy, which comes into force in April 2017. 

The levy is designed to create and fund new apprenticeships as part of the Government’s ongoing drive to upskill millions across the UK to ensure that they can build successful and lasting careers in a changing digital world. 

Universal access to superfast broadband was the headline proposal in the Queen's Speech today - the ceremony by which the government announces its legislative agenda for the next 12 months.

Announcing a renewed push to remove barriers to innovation and employment, Business Secretary Sajid Javid today revealed two new consultations:

• A public survey asking for views on what the government should include in its new Innovation Plan; and
• An upcoming call for evidence on whether "non-compete clauses" in employment contracts are stifling entrepreneurship 

Making the announcement, the Business Secretary said:

What the Spending Review 2015 means for games - reforms to exports, apprenticeships, public funding, broadband 

Chancellor George Osborne published the Comprehensive Spending Review today, setting out the government's spending plans for the next three years.  As expected, the Chancellor outlined substantial reductions in public sector spending but alongside those several announcements were made which are important for the games industry:

On Tuesday 3 November, Ukie are hosting the first ever Westminster Games Industry Day in Parliament, in partnership with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Video Games, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Google, EA and King. It is the first day of its kind, and will see games industry leaders enter the palace of Westminster to meet, educate and lobby MPs and Peers towards the needs of the UK games industry.

Ed Vaizey backs games industry progress 

Five years after first speaking to the conference,  Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy Ed Vaizey gave a warmly-received keynote address at Develop:Brighton today.

Hailing these "incredibly exciting times" for the UK games industry, after the introduction of Video Games Tax Relief and the reintroduction of computing into the curriculum, the Minister particularly welcomed Ukie's contribution to this ongoing work.