The Chancellor is currently reviewing all public spending from scratch. Let’s remind the UK Government. The arts make our lives happier and our communities stronger. Now is the moment to invest in them.

This Labour Government was elected on the promise of a decade of national renewal. By the end of her Spending Review on 11 June, the Chancellor will have decided whether the arts are part of the picture: whether to continue to shrink arts and culture funding until 2029, or whether to turn the tide.

The arts are not a luxury, but an essential ingredient in a healthy society. For us to thrive, the arts must too.

However, the UK has one of the lowest levels of government spending on culture among European nations.1 Cuts are continuing under this government: the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) budget has already shrunk by 6% this year.

This Spending Review is about our longer-term prosperity. Now is the time to remind the Chancellor: cuts to culture are cuts to our collective potential;investment in the arts is an investment in us all.

Investing in the arts and culture will catalyse a decade of national renewal. This Spending Review, we urge the Chancellor to:

• Restore the funding removed from the DCMS budget this year by 2026–27.
• Sustain real-terms growth in DCMS budgets in each year of the Spending Review period, as is planned for overall departmental spending.
• Extend the Government’s commitment to growing funding for schools and local councils, both of which are vital for public access to the arts.

For us to thrive, the arts must too:

The arts are not a luxury, a sweetener, or an optional nice-to-have that we should only look to once all else is sorted. Engaging with the arts promotes the essential habits of a healthy society, from curiosity and confidence to empathy and the art of living with difference. This means happier individuals, better relationships, and stronger communities.

To ensure access that is local, regular, and available at all stages of life, we need artists, venues, and organisations, and a robust and rounded system to support them: a thriving cultural ecology.

The health of an ecology depends on the balance of its parts. Public investment is not the full picture, but remains an essential partner to commercial and do-it-yourself art-making. We must not let it wither away.