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All areas

Area 10 of 10

Culture, Recreation & Religion

Monthly

£0.5bn

Share

0.6%

Per household

£17

Per person

£8

Trend

+£0.1bn (25%) since 2019/20

Data sourcesONS — Public sector finances, UKONS Statistics API (api.gov.uk)DCMS — Sectors economic estimatesHM Treasury — Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA)
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

What does culture spending aim to achieve?

  • Access to culture

  • Active nation

  • Protect heritage

  • Creative economy

Inside the £0.5bn

Data sourcesONS — Public sector finances, UKONS Statistics API (api.gov.uk)DCMS — Sectors economic estimatesHM Treasury — Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA)
exact ONS/HMRC/MHCLG/PSS fields

Arts & Culture

£0.2bn

40.0% · £7/household

  • Arts Council funding
  • National museums
  • Cultural programmes

Sport & Recreation

£0.1bn

30.0% · £5/household

  • Sport England / UK Sport
  • Community facilities
  • Elite performance

Libraries & Heritage

£0.1bn

20.0% · £3/household

  • Public libraries
  • Historic England
  • Heritage grants

Broadcasting & Religion

£0.1bn

10.0% · £2/household

  • Broadcasting support
  • Faith and community services

Culture, Recreation & Religion is the smallest functional area of government spending.

Public libraries, museums and galleries receive the majority of this funding.

The creative industries contribute over £120 billion a year to the UK economy.

Grassroots sport funding supports participation across all four nations.

Sources

Financial year 2024/25.