December 2, 2019

TIGA notes that the Conservative Party manifesto pledges to invest in the education and immigration system in order to create a highly skilled workforce, and to support small to medium businesses by removing financial barriers.

On online harms and monetisation within video games, the Conservatives have pledged the following:

• provisions to protect the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content; and
• a review of the Gambling Act 2005, with particular focus on tackling issues around loot boxes and credit card misuse;

On investing in skills and education, the Conservatives have pledged:

• the creation of a new National Skills Fund worth £3 billion over the next Parliament. This fund will provide matching funding for individuals and SMEs for high-quality education and training;
• an investment of almost £2 billion to upgrade the entire further education college estate; and
• to look at ways to improve the working of the Apprenticeship Levy.

On visas for skilled migrants, the Conservatives have promised:

• the introduction of an Australian-style points-based system which will prioritise those who: (i) have a good grasp of English; (ii) have been law-abiding citizens in their own countries; and (iii) have good education and qualifications. The manifesto also states that most people will need a clear job offer;
• maintaining the start-up visa for early-stage, high potential entrepreneurs starting a business in Britain for the first time; and
• fast-track entry for highly qualified technology and science graduates.

On improving accessibility to finance for SMEs, the Conservatives have pledged:

• the reduction of business rates;
• an increase of Employment Allowance for small businesses; and
• the expansion of start-up loans.

As for the Scottish National Party manifesto, TIGA notes that the manifesto recognises the social, cultural and economic importance of the creative industries to Scotland. The manifesto emphasises that the total contribution of the creative industries to the Scottish economy has grown by 62% between 2008 and 2017.

On the creative industries, the SNP promises to:

• continue to support tax incentives for creative industries, including for film and television, and for more work to increase equality, inclusion and diversity across the sector;
• press the UK Government to invest in digital connectivity including superfast broadband and 5G technology;
• provide access to superfast broadband to every home and business in Scotland, investing £600 million towards this, with the UK Government providing just £21 million of that figure;
• call on the Shared Rural Network to deliver 95% 4G mobile coverage in Scotland; and
• work with broadband and mobile service providers to make more affordable tariffs and packages more widely available.

On gambling, the SNP promises to:

• press for greater devolution of gambling regulation to the Scottish Parliament and press the UK Government to stop underage gambling on video games.

As for online harms, the SNP promises to:

• put in place new standards and measures so social media, gaming and technology organisations protect their users fully including having a statutory duty of care and mandatory obligations to tackle unsuitable content that can lead to self-harm and suicide, sexual exploitation, grooming, abuse and extremism;
• make an appointment of a new independent Online Regulator with the ability to take action such as imposing heavy fines and blocking access to sites;
• ensure age verification for sites that are not suitable for children or have lower age limits, like the existing rules for films; and
• impose a levy on technology companies to fully fund the regulator and associated resources.

On immigration, the SNP promises to:

• oppose Conservative plans to introduce a minimum salary threshold – preventing anyone earning less than £30,000 from being admitted to the UK;
• oppose the Immigration Skills Charge, which charges employers up to £5,000 per non-EEA worker; and
• support a review of the citizenship application process, with a view to bringing down its cost and reducing its complexity.

To read TIGA’s summaries in full and for access to the manifestos, click here for the Conservative Party manifesto and here for the SNP manifesto.