Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) arts and (b) creative activities on the health of (i) children and (ii) babies in socially deprived communities.

DCMS has carried out a range of work to research the impact of arts and creativity upon health. For instance, through the Culture and Heritage Capital (CHC) Programme, the Department has recently published a new study that monetises the impact of culture and heritage engagement on health and wellbeing. This draws on evidence for a range of groups, including children and young people. While the report is not specifically about children from socially deprived communities, its findings are striking. For example, one model within the research finds that general engagement with culture and heritage for adults aged 30-49 has annual health and wellbeing benefits worth £992 per person and £8bn to wider society each year. Specifically for children, another model finds that participating in art can have benefits worth £134 per child per year in terms of improvements to quality of life and self esteem, worth £120mn per year to society.

The research highlights one of the many reasons that Government invests to support arts and creativity, including activity with children and young people. For example, one third of organisations supported through Arts Council England's National Portfolio Investment Programme (334 Organisations) report that they deliver “creative health” activity, including 121 who support the health of children and young people.