§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the(a) total tax yield and (b) income generated for the United Kingdom economy by the arts in the United Kingdom in the most recent year for which figures are available. [24750]
§ Mr. Fisher[holding answer 26 January 1998]: 1 have been asked to reply.
Information is not available on the first part of the question. On the second part, my preliminary assessment is that the annual turnover of the arts and creative industries may currently be of the order of £50 billion, their added value around £25 billion and their direct contribution approaching 4 per cent. of UK GDP. However, the arts and creative industries are neither easily found nor adequately covered in the existing official data and work is under way to clarify the extent of their contributions. I believe that the arts and creative industries occupy an increasingly important place within the UK economy but that this economic importance is not yet widely recognised alongside their acknowledged value in enriching and entertaining us all.