Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic benefit of investment in the arts over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government recognises the important contribution the arts makes to the economy, For every £1 of gross value added generated by the arts and culture industry, an additional £1.43 of gross added value is generated in the wider UK economy (The Contribution of the Arts and Culture to the National Economy,Centre for Economics and Business Research). Activities within arts and culture can provide direct employment to commercial creative industries organisations – the number of jobs in the creative industries sector is now 1.8 million.

It is important to note that the contribution of arts is not just about the economic benefits, and there is also considerable evidence that culture has the capacity to improve health and wellbeing, educational attainment, and community cohesion.