Following hard on the heels on the visit of Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visited the Watershed for a discussion about the creative future. During the 80 minutes informal Q&A session, Nick recognised the importance of moving away from a “London-centric” attitude and that regional areas needed to be given more powers to run their own systems of business support.

He said that the traditional funding structures, like the RDAs, were a good fit for Central Government as it “likes big blocks" but that the Coalition believes working in defined areas was a better model. 
Answering questions from Bryony Thomas and Chris Thurling, he pushed the possibilities for direct economic assistance for SMEs and creative micro businesses through the Local Enterprise Partnership, the proposed Enterprise Zone (with business rate control in the hands of the Council) and Tax Incremental Finance.

He saw the advantage in a three-year moratorium on new business regulations for SMEs, but responded to Stuart Avery's description of the tax breaks and other incentives available in places like Austin, USA, with a reminder that servicing the national debt cost the equivalent of "building a new school every 20 minutes". A pretty big job, then.

Other areas included Phil Gibbons from BCFM questioning the support for local and community media – surely a vital part of the "Big Society" with 140 radio stations – but suffering from a decline in funding. Voluntary effort and mentoring are a strong part of Bristol's mix, and it looks like it will stay that way...

So, what excited him about the Bristol media scene? Wildlife films and Chicken Run (he'd watched it with the kids over Easter) got the traditional mentions, but there was also reference to digital, advertising, marketing & PR, so a recognition of the wider strengths.

Most interestingly, Nick was scathing on the country's dependence on Financial Services, which had centralised too much power in London, and saw a need to change that. 

He also brought to everyone’s attention that the next round of public money comes in the form of the 2nd round of Regional Growth Fund – an opportunity for the Local Enterprise Partnership to bid for the big things that can change the way the city works as an ecosystem – with a deadline in July. 
We offered an ongoing dialogue – an hour and 10 minutes is a very short time with a well-honed politician – and we'll push for that. It was something he said he welcomed and was open to hearing more.

In response to Dave Sloly, Nick asked to know what freedom we need to do the best for Bristol – so crystallising the "ask" is a priority – and it will help prove that Bristol is the place to work things out, deliver some ambition for the future, and maybe get us on the way to Austin.

Altogether, there was a really positive sense of what Bristol can do – with the funding of the National Composites Centre by the Technology Strategy Board showing the innovative strength of the Universities and the local technology sectors.

This was coupled by the fact we were able to pull together 100 creative industry practitioners and collaborators over the Easter weekend – all of which was suitably impressive.

We'd like to thank Dick Penny and his team for providing the venue, and for Barbara Janke and the City Council for co-ordinating the visit. It was a great event for Bristol Media to host, and good to see so many members coming in from the sunshine!

We couldn't cover all the questions, but send yours in to Paul Appleby, or direct to Nick, and we'll keep the noise going.

Nick Clegg has made it known he answers questions on Twitter and his hashtag is @nick_clegg