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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the state of the UK commercial art market, particularly in London, and what plans they have to support that sector.

We published art market statistics in December 2024 and the sector will be included alongside DCMS’s regularly scheduled publication of GVA, employment and trade in goods statistics going forward.

The UK has the second largest art market in the world and the Government is committed to embedding our position as a global centre for the trade of art. This commitment is shown through the sector’s inclusion in the Creative Industries Sector Plan published in June.

The Government takes a joined-up approach to supporting the art market and, in 2024, launched the first Cross-Government Art Market Working Group, bringing together officials across Government to ensure the sector is represented in all relevant policy matters.

The Government recently announced improvements to Temporary Admission (TA), a customs procedure to suspend import duties for artwork temporarily in the UK.

The Minister for the Creative Industries is hosting an art market roundtable later this month to explore the part the art market plays in the wider UK art and creative industries ecosystem, and how the government and the sector can work together to support its growth.