Culture, Media and Sport – in the House of Commons at on 17 October 2024.
What steps the Government is taking to promote the Scottish Highlands as a film location for movies and television.
This Government are taking a fresh approach to our relationship with the Scottish Government and with our cultural partners across Scotland. We are seeking a far more consistent and constructive relationship than the previous Government. I am pleased to tell the hon. Gentleman that the Prime Minister last week convened the first ever Council of the Nations and Regions, and this Government are putting the creative industries in every nation and region at the heart of our economic strategy.
I wholeheartedly welcome that answer. Scotland has great potential; if I say that “The Traitors” was filmed at Ardross castle in my constituency, the Secretary of State will know what I am talking about. I take the point that these matters are devolved, but Mr Angus Robertson seems to flip-flop when it comes to funding the arts, so I would be grateful for everything the Secretary of State can do to get Netflix, or whoever, to look hard at the Highlands.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to draw attention to Scotland’s huge cultural assets. I was pleased to meet with my Scottish Government counterpart when I visited the Edinburgh Fringe over the summer. I know from the international investment summit, which the Government convened earlier this week, that partners like Netflix, and many other international investors, see the enormous value of Scotland and the attraction of investing there. This Government will do everything we can to support that, and we will put rocket boosters under the creative industries in Scotland.