Richard Lindsay, IPA Director of Legal & Public Affairs, outlines the key policy areas the IPA thinks an incoming government should be focusing on and how it should be supporting the ad industry.
Support for our industry
It contributes to the UK’s social and cultural life and it helps to fuel the economy. We need an incoming government, of whichever stripe, to champion it and help it to continue to thrive in order to help the UK.
Maintain self-regulation
The UK’s ad industry is subject to a highly successful and internationally renowned self and co-regulatory system, overseen by the ASA. The system is nimble, able to act quickly and effectively, is easy and free to use, and funded by the industry, with no tax burden on the public. It works. If the industry is to continue to thrive, it needs to be allowed to innovate without legislative intervention, subject to compliance with the existing rules.
Home grown talent
Our industry depends on people. To continue to produce the best work, agencies need to be able to recruit the best homegrown talent. Our industry does much to promote careers in advertising to children and young people in the UK (for example, the IPA’s one-stop-shop and its Advertising Unlocked initiative) but agencies need young people in the UK to be better skilled, particularly in data and technology, so that they can contribute meaningfully to our industry. They need investment in education in creative subjects, creative thinking and in technology, both at school and in further education.
International talent
We would like to see an incoming Government explore approaches that might level the playing field to ensure that the UK can attract and retain the best international talent and remain a dominant, international advertising force. This includes some of the process and cost challenges involved in recruiting talent from overseas.
The IPA supports the ambitions of the apprenticeship scheme
It promotes a multi-skilled, diverse workforce, helping young people into rewarding jobs through a less traditional route. But it needs improving. Businesses should have greater flexibility on how they use the Levy, which is something we’d be keen to talk through with the relevant Government Ministers
AI
The current government has taken an agile and iterative approach to AI regulation. The IPA agrees that a flexible, cautious approach to regulation is sensible, considering the fast pace of AI development and the need to allow for innovation and creativity. We would ask an incoming Government to continue on this path, but to maintain international cooperation where possible, to facilitate consistency.
