10 April 2011
Posted in
Film
Guild submits response to the Creative England consultation
In response to the consultation document published by Creative England earlier this year (pdf), the Writers' Guild Film Committee has submitted answers to a series of questions.
Creative England, which will formally commence operations in October 2011, replaces the previous network of Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) which operated across England. The organisation will be based in three 'Hubs' which will operate from Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester but its activities will cover all the English Regions.
Here is the full text of the Guild's response to the consultation:
Your organisation:
The Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) represents all kinds of professional writers in the UK, including screenwriters in film and television and videogames writers. Affiliated to the TUC, it plays a vital role in supporting an almost entirely freelance workforce. It puts forward the voice of writers to government and industry.
The WGGB negotiates agreements with broadcasters, theatre managers and producers. It speaks for writers at regional and UK level and has branches in the regions and nations. It arbitrates in disputes over credit and supports writers over unpaid contracts and other problems. It administers pension plans and digital rights payments for writers.
Since many members of the WGGB live in the regions and are involved in developing creative projects the future of regional government support is of crucial interest to the Guild.
Do you agree that the strategic priorities are the right ones?
'The three strategic priorities are developing creative talent, nurturing film culture and helping to maximise inward investment.'
While the Guild supports these aims it has significant concerns as to how Creative England plans to deliver on them.The great strength of the existing RSAs has been in developing local networks, fostering local talent and backing this up with modest but crucial investment. It is a matter of concern to the Guild that three hubs to cover the whole country will not be able to fulfil this local function and will simply be a window dressing version of regionalism, which will be less effective at developing creative talent at regional level and more expensive than honestly admitting that there is no governmental will to fund regionalism and abandoning the project.
How can Bristol-based talent finders or minders have boots on the ground in Margate and Land's End? Or Northumberland for Birmingham? And if they are not actually in the region, then in an era of global connectivity, what will they be able to do that could not be done equally well from an office in London?
The same arguments apply to nurturing film culture and it would seem more logical to devolve this to existing local cultural hubs such as art galleries and museums than to create a new body with this responsibility. It seems more likely that the new system will be able to help with the third objective than with the other two, in providing a regional point of contact for crewing, location services etc. Although it is arguable that it would still be simpler for an inward investor to have to deal with only one body rather than three.
How can Creative England best build upon the work of the Regional Screen Agencies in supporting these priorities?
By minimising the organisational changes, centralising admin but not talent spotting and encouraging the areas of creative excellence that are already working well to continue to do so.
What are the key challenges, in addition to funding?
The challenge is in attitude. The lack of consultation in making the primary decision about reorganising regional funding undercuts the relevance of the present supposed consultation.
Not only were the RSAs themselves, it appears, not involved in this process but there has been no attempt to engage with the end-users and ask what they need. How can you expect to put in place a good working system if you don't ask what your clients - the creative people working all over England - value in the existing system or believe might be changed for the better?
Going forward therefore, it would be very good to see Creative England asking what it can do not dictating what it's prepared to offer.
