Outlining the economic and social contributions made by the arts and culture industry, this is the fifth iteration of a study first undertaken in 2013.

The purpose of this report is to provide an up-to-date picture of the contributions that the arts and culture industry makes to the UK economy.

Arts Council England is a public body that supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries. Its remit includes a wide range of visual, performing and literary art forms. It has funding responsibilities for regional museums and a development role across libraries and the wider museums sector. Arts Council England works with its parent government department - the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) - to make the arts and the wider culture of museums and libraries an integral part of everyday public life, accessible to all, and understood as essential to the national economy and to the health and happiness of society.

This report is focused on analysing how the arts and culture industry contributes to and impacts on the UK economy. Contributions to macroeconomic indicators such as gross value added (GVA) contributions to GDP, employment and household incomes are assessed. The report also examines the indirect and induced multiplier impacts that can be associated with the arts and culture industry, through its supply chain linkages and through the activities stimulated when employees spend their earnings in the wider economy.

In addition, this report uses survey data to consider a subset of the arts and culture industry (National Portfolio Organisations of ACE) and their economic contributions to the wider economy. This involves computing separate economic contribution impacts for NPOs as well as considering the broader spillovers they exhibit. The latter is done through an extensive survey designed by Cebr which covers topics including developing skills, nurturing innovation and contributing to and fostering growth in the commercial creative industries.

Using five case studies, the report also seeks to consider the dynamic role that arts and culture organisations play in acting as incubators and contributing to local area regeneration.