Economy: Culture and the Arts

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch Excerpts

Thursday 13th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

My Lords, I, too, am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, for securing this debate and to everybody who has contributed. There is enormous art expertise in this House, yet it seems that it is all too rare that we get an opportunity such as this for an in-depth discussion. We have proved our worth with that expertise today.

At the outset, I endorse the central proposition that we are debating. The fact is that the arts and culture contribute enormously to the economy, and that is backed up by statistics from the department and by numerous external assessments that have been made over the years.

A number of noble Lords have cited statistics this afternoon and I do not want to bore the House but I will add a couple of my own. The department itself calculated that the creative industries account for 6.2% of the goods and services in the economy and £16.6 billion in exports. A more recent study has estimated that the sector accounts for 1.5 million jobs and contributes £70,000 a minute to the UK economy. A number of noble Lords have made reference to the Arts Council report. The most recent report on the economic impact makes a very powerful case, showing how investment reaps return, with every per cent of government arts spending yielding four times as much towards GDP.

In addition, as we have heard, the arts are a major reason why overseas visitors come to Britain, with our heritage sites being a major draw and nearly half of them planning to attend a music, theatre or opera event. The noble Lord, Lord Brooke, also made an important point, reminding us that it is also a reason why businesses globally choose to locate here, as they appreciate the artistic culture that we have.

In a recent debate here on the role of arts projects in regional regeneration, we heard about their enormous economic impact on cities—for example, Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture, which generated £800 million for the regional economy; the Birmingham Creative City initiative, which aims to create 100,000 new jobs by 2020; and the Sage Gateshead, contributing £146 million to the north-east economy. The noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter, reminded us today of the roles of The Lowry and the BBC MediaCity in helping to regenerate Salford.

For everyone involved in the arts, those economic benefits have been recognised and celebrated over many years. Indeed, when my noble friend Lord Smith coined the phrase “the creative economy” in the early years of the previous Government, it was precisely to emphasise that, far from being a drain on the nation’s resources, investment in the arts created growth, jobs and economic returns, as well as providing a broader social dividend.

So what are we to make of the recent speeches of Ed Vaizey and Maria Miller acknowledging the value of the arts to the economy? First, it might be said that they have come to the table rather late in the day, when a considerable amount of damage to the arts has already been done. This was, as I understand it, Maria Miller’s first speech on the arts in seven months as Culture Secretary. Set against the backdrop of the cuts to arts bodies made by her predecessor, there hardly seems to be a sense that the interests of arts and culture are being driven from the front.

A number of noble Lords rightly raised concerns about the impact of further cuts. That point was made very powerfully by my noble friend Lady McIntosh. It will be interesting to hear how the negotiations with the Treasury for a further 10% or 15% cut are progressing. Perhaps the Minister could update us on this.

Secondly, it would be interesting to know how successful Maria Miller has been in persuading her colleague, Eric Pickles, the Local Government Minister, that the arts are the bedrock of our future local cultural success. It is at a local level that young people are first exposed to the opportunities that involvement in the arts can bring. It provides training, experience and inspiration, and, yes, provides a platform for the next generation of Oscar winners. A number of noble Lords raised concerns about cultural devastation already occurring locally. We heard from the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, that the Local Government Association has calculated that by 2020, up to 90% of local culture budgets will have disappeared. That has to be a cause of concern for us.

Thirdly, if the UK is to have a thriving cultural economy, surely it has to start in schools. However, by any measure, Michael Gove’s tenure in education has been a disaster for the teaching of creative arts in schools. Thankfully, we have now seen the demise of the ill conceived EBacc proposals, which had no place at all for arts subjects, but the new proposals for the curriculum are similarly weak. Instead of making space for creativity in subjects such as art, design, music and drama, there is an emphasis on learning facts by rote, and a transmission of knowledge from adults who possess knowledge to children who do not. There is hardly any space for creative knowledge. Under this model, curiosity, interest and experimentation are squeezed out, despite evidence that those are exactly the skills that the next generation need to be successful. What representations have been made to the Department for Education and Skills about the ongoing need for a broad arts education to provide the seed corn for our next generation of artists?

I said at the outset that I agreed with the central premise of the debate. Of course, the arts have a significant role to play in the future of our economy. However, you cannot start from that position. The economic benefit should only ever be one driver of a successful arts policy. If the funding of the arts is to become predicated on a guarantee of commercial success, you inevitably end up with an inferior product. This would be epitomised by a West End full of musical revivals, for example. As several noble Lords have pointed out, who would have invested in a puppet show of First World War horses if the box office had to be guaranteed? I agree with my noble friend Lord Puttnam and others who are alarmed at Maria Miller’s singular focus on economic outcomes. New works, new blood, new thinking, irreverence and risk-taking must be allowed to flourish if we are to maintain our place as a global centre for arts excellence. With risk-taking there has to be the chance of failure or, as the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, put it, of there being ponies that do not quite make the final fence. That is all part of the experimentation that must be at the heart of the creative arts.

There is something more fundamental and unquantifiable about the contribution of the arts in the UK. As a number of noble Lords have struggled to express, the arts are at the heart of our well-being and our quality of life. They make us laugh, or cry. They unite us in a strong sense of shared emotion at a concert, play or gallery. Books or poetry can provide individual solace, inspiration or relaxation. I could go on, but the point is that the creative arts are a central part of our lives and identity and, yes, our civilisation. As my noble friend Lord Smith wisely put it, they are about everything that makes life worth while. We should not have to put a commercial price on that.

Finally, we need to recognise that creativity is not only the preserve of arts and culture. It also lies at the heart of our wider business success. This is why the CBI has been so concerned about the sidelining of arts subjects in schools. It recognises that future global business success will be built upon creative design, originality, communication skills and an ability to think laterally. My noble friend Lady Kennedy reminded us of Steve Jobs’ words about hiring artists and designers, rather than simply programmers, to create his products. That example is replicated time and time again across the business sector. This is why there is concern that the arts have been left to languish in a diminished DCMS. Their place at the heart of our economic revival should be recognised centre stage, with business and Treasury support. It is not surprising that commentators are beginning to speculate whether DCMS has a future at all, given its seeming inability to fight its corner successfully on these issues. Perhaps the Minister could shed some light on whether there is any truth in these rumours.

We have had a good debate today, with some very eloquent contributions. Quite rightly, we have identified the need for balance when measuring the contribution of the arts. Yes, they make a vast and growing contribution to the economy, but we should equally celebrate the contribution of the arts to our individual and collective well-being. With that in mind, I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response to the debate.