Arts Sector

Monday 30th June 2025 Lords Chamber

Question

14:57

Asked by

[The Earl of Clancarty]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the value of the subsidised arts sector.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)]

The Government strongly believe in the benefits of publicly funded arts. The arts are vital to the UK’s economy and our well-being and fundamental to our cohesion as a society and our national story, fostering pride and earning global recognition. A recent report for the Arts Council by the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated that its national portfolio alone accounted for 7% of the gross value added of the sector, equivalent to £1.35 billion.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, at its best, the ecosystem of the arts and creative industries is a dynamic combination of the non-commercial and commercial, a point well made by the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, in her excellent maiden speech last week. Does the Minister agree that there would be no Steve McQueen, the commercially successful director, without the experimental visual artist supported through the Arts Council by the DCMS? The sectoral plan is a plan principally for the already commercialised creative industries; it is not a plan for the subsidised arts. Is there a plan for the arts and, if so, when will that happen?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Everything we do at DCMS centres around this point, if you look at the work that Arts Council England does in terms of the huge spend on its programmes. I am happy to have a longer conversation with the noble Earl, but the Arts Council England review will look at the whole piece, and the conclusions of the review and the Government’s response will be published next year.

[Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con)]

My Lords, public subsidy extends beyond public arts venues. Indeed, at the height of the Covid pandemic, £900,000 of public money was paid to support Glastonbury. In that context, does the Minister agree with me that the scenes that we saw from Glastonbury this weekend were absolutely disgraceful? Does she further agree that the BBC must explain its decision to broadcast live and uninterrupted an antisemitic diatribe, a decision for which there must be not only an explanation but personal—not just institutional—responsibility?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

My right honourable friend the Culture Secretary will be providing a full Statement in the other place on this matter today. The BBC has issued a statement acknowledging that it should have pulled the stream during the performance and regrets that this did not happen. I share the noble Lord’s sentiments. I found the whole thing appalling—and terrifying, to be honest, that this could happen in our country. Avon and Somerset Police has already confirmed that it is looking into what happened.

[Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (LD)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a trustee of the Lowry in Salford, which has a successful public-private mixed economy model, as mentioned by the noble Earl, but this depends on our relationship with subsidised national organisations. The National Theatre’s “Dear England” is currently being performed across our stages thanks to that. We are lucky. Recent cuts to London-based national organisations have led across the board to the reduction, indeed jettisoning, of touring. Does the Minister recognise that the creative industries growth plan must focus on collaboration, and that both regional and national organisations must be properly funded for this to continue to be so rich?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The Secretary of State is clear that, when she talks about “arts everywhere”, this genuinely means that every part of the country should have access to arts and theatre not just here in London but around the country. I can reassure the noble Baroness that this principle is at the heart of our plans.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree with me that, when we audit the arts in simply economic terms, we undervalue them hugely? The value of the arts goes so much towards our social capital, our social well-being and our cultural health. Is the DCMS preparing an audit that will enable us to see this in its full dimension, so that when we do get a coherent arts policy, we will be able to judge how it impacts on the community, on individuals and on social health and well-being?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

My noble friend makes an important point. Participation in publicly funded arts programmes is associated with improved mental health and well-being, as well as the impact on social capital and social cohesion to which my noble friend pointed. Research already commissioned by DCMS reveals that cultural engagement contributes approximately £8 billion annually in health and well-being benefits. Engagement with the arts shows improved quality of life, reduced use of health and social care services, and increased productivity. It has a huge public benefit—one that we seek to protect.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister has rightly highlighted the multiple benefits of investment in arts and culture, but is she aware of the role that arts and cultural organisations play in the wider economy, both as a generator of product innovations that are then adopted for mainstream use, and, indeed, through the demands that artists make on tech firms to create new products that will deliver their artistic vision? The recent sector plan, as we have heard, understandably exploits the commercial elements of the creative industries. Can the Minister say what work is under way to better understand and leverage the value of the arts and cultural sector in driving innovation and, therefore, financial value across the wider UK economy?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Research shows that, where young people explore creative subjects, their overall attainment improves. The same is the case throughout people’s lives—creativity is so important. For us in DCMS, it was hugely exciting to have the creative industries recognised as part of the industrial strategy. As part of the creative ecosystem, the sector will benefit from the cross-cutting measures in the sector plan and industrial strategy, including greater access to finance. Over the spending review period, DCMS is committing significant funding to safeguard and modernise much-loved arts and cultural institutions across England as part of this creative ecosystem.

[Lord Swire (Con)]

Can the Minister explain the logic and the Government’s thinking whereby a British tourist trying to visit a museum such as the Prado, the Uffizi or the Louvre has to pay to go and see those collections, whereas foreign visitors here do not have to do that to see our national collections, which are hard pressed for funding?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

The introduction of universal free admission to national museums and galleries was a landmark policy of the previous Labour Government that we are really proud of and do not currently have any plans to change. These museums attract huge numbers of both national and international visitors, which supports jobs and investment across the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

[Lord Carlile of Berriew (CB)]

Does the Minister agree that small provincial theatres, such as the Blackpool Grand Theatre, the Burnley Youth Theatre and the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster, make a substantial contribution to education and community cohesion and should be viewed as good candidates for continuing public support through the Arts Council?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I am not the person who makes the Arts Council’s decisions, but I assure the noble Lord that one of the key things that my noble friend Lady Hodge—who is undertaking the Arts Council England review—is examining is whether the regions have access to high-quality arts and culture and whether everyone is able to participate in and consume culture and creativity.

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

Will the Government take the advice of the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, that the state is not the only source of money? Will they take the advice of the chairman of Arts Council England to follow France in offering incremental tax breaks to businesses that sponsor arts organisations, and thereby help alleviate the funding pressures that the sector is currently facing?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

DCMS is not suggesting that there should be one source of funding and that the arts’ only source of funding should be public funding—a mixed economy is really important. DCMS in particular is committed to championing philanthropy, which has a rich tradition in our country. It is key across the DCMS sector, supporting our most beloved institutions, such as our museums, heritage sites and performing arts venues.

[Lord Winston (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Earl’s Question asks an even bigger question. Given the country’s requirement to encourage growth, surely we should invest in the arts much more than we do at the moment. Compared with our European partners and other nationalities, we are doing extremely badly in how we support the arts.

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

DCMS has secured £8.2 billion over the next spending review, and we will invest almost £3 billion in capital funding over the next four years—that is an additional £371 million compared with the previous Government’s final year allocation. I appreciate that my noble friend may have a different view but, in our view, this settlement represents a positive outcome for DCMS and the sectors we represent in a really challenging economic context, with increased investment in the creative industries and maintaining a significant capital uplift.