The Pinewood Group recently announced record revenues and strong growth amid an exciting time for its world-leading film and television studios. While this year hosting the latest instalments of the leading film franchises in the world – Star Wars, James Bond and The Avengers – Iver Heath-based Pinewood Studios is also embarking on an expansion of its site in order to cope with growing demand. Last year, Pinewood joined other leading creative employers in creating the Next Gen Skills Academy at Amersham & Wycombe College. This is global success coming straight from the heart of Buckinghamshire being used to inspire and support the next generation of talent. This is the blueprint for what a successful sector should do, and it appears that the benefits of engaging with the Creative Industries are felt in a variety of ways.

Earlier this year official figures released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) revealed that the UK’s Creative Industries were worth £76.9 billion to the UK economy in 2013, having grown almost 10% from 2012. This growth is three times that of the UK economy as a whole. Figures released this week by DCMS revealed that the sector employed 1.8 million people in 2014, an increase of almost 16% since 2011, accounting for 1 in 17 of all jobs in the UK in 2014.

The Creative Industries have a positive impact on people’s lives outside of employment benefits, according to research conducted by several different bodies. In 2014, the Arts Council collated a range of studies into a report titled ‘The Value of Arts and Culture to People and Society’. The report found that “there is strong evidence that participation in the arts can contribute to community cohesion, reduce social exclusion and isolation, and/or make communities feel safer and stronger.”

Based on responses from nearly 10,000 people, a 2013 report called ‘Healthy Attendance: The Impact of Cultural Engagement and Sports Participation on Health and Satisfaction with life in Scotland’ found that those who had attended a cultural place or event in the previous 12 months were almost 60 per cent more likely to report good health compared to those who had not, with theatre-goers were almost 25 per cent more  likely to report good health. Those who read for pleasure were also 33 per cent more likely to report good health.

A 2010 report - ‘Understanding the impact of engagement in culture and sport: A systematic review of the learning impacts for young people’ – found that, among other benefits:

• taking part in drama and library activities improves attainment in literacy
• taking part in structured music activities improves attainment in maths, early language acquisition and early literacy
• participation in structured arts activities increases cognitive abilities
• students from low income families who take part in arts activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree than children from low income families that do not engage in arts activities at school
• students who engage in the arts at school are twice as likely to volunteer than students who do not engage in arts and are 20 per cent more likely to vote as young adults.

All of which goes to show that supporting the creative industries is vital when aspiring to a productive society and economy. With the highest proportion of employment in the sector of all county council areas, Buckinghamshire is leading the fight not only for the creative industries, but for the economic and social benefits that emerge off the back of a successful cultural output.

Whilst the record revenues of Pinewood might be out of reach of most, there’s help on hand if your business is looking to grow. Speak to our business support team on 01494 568941 email businesssupport@bbf.uk.com or book a session with an expert from the Business Growth Service.