Tiga Welcomes the Parting Remarks of Culture Minister Shaun Woodward
3rd July 2007
Tiga welcomes the parting remarks of Culture Minister Woodward and urges industry to come forward with current issues.
Tiga the trade association representing UK development studios has written to outgoing culture Minister Shaun Woodward to thank him for championing the games sector and for appreciating the issues that the industry faces, but now calls on the industry from around the UK to give evidence of the issues especially unfair competition they face in trying to compete in the global industry.
Woodward's parting shot before he was reshuffled to the Northern Ireland Office was to acknowledge that Canada had overtaken the UK as no 3 in the global production stakes due to massive government subsidies and that the industry faced stern challenges with no room for complacency.
Tiga CEO Fred Hasson said: "We had a Minister who took the time to listen to the industry and verify what we told him and recognise the importance of the industry. He understood that a successful industry is not only based on vat receipts from growing sales at retail, and that we need to focus on skills, talent and importantly that the sector should be supported, if it is to compete against subsidies in other territories".
This comes in a week that yet another Tiga member has reported further defections from their staff to Canada. Feedback to Tiga also shows companies and individuals being lured away with tax breaks and incentives.
"We are pleased that new DCMS Ministers James Purnell and Margaret Hodge have recently had Ministerial responsibilities for the 'games' sector, so that hopefully they will be able to pick up where Shaun Woodward left off but we need to keep the flow of evidence going to these new Ministers." continues Hasson
"We are currently working on finding solutions to delays in work permit delays for non EU nationals, and on uncertainties and underperformance of R&D Tax Credits regime, but we need all in the industry to keep us informed of what is going on out there. Information passed on is kept confidential."
Ends
Further info Call Fred Hasson +44 7788 563 723