A Brighton MP quizzed a former pop star about the support needed for the creative industries.
Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, raised the issue with former Undertones singer Fergal Sharkey, now chief executive of industry body UK Music.
Mr Kirby said that more than 1,500 people worked in the sector in Brighton and Hove. His constituency includes the Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM) which has premises in – appropriately – Rock Place.
He asked how the banks were responding to the growing importance of the creative industries.
Mr Kirby’s questions came during a meeting of the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee of which he is a member.
He also questioned Martin Walder, chairman of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance, about the importance of support for manufacturing businesses in his constituency.
More than 4 per cent of jobs in Brighton and Hove are based on manufacturing.
Mr Kirby asked Mr Walder about the importance of Brighton businesses working with Sussex University.
Collaboration between companies and academia, he said, often lead to innovation and more value added to locally produced goods and services.
After the meeting, Mr Kirby said: “My membership of the select committee means I am able to directly question key industry figures on behalf of local businesses and get answers on the important issues that are being faced at present.
“By raising these matters, it enables me to put Brighton and Peacehaven companies on the map and demonstrate where we have a competitive advantage.”
