About the paper
This paper draws on qualitative evidence gathered in July 2025, during Creative UK’s national Culture as Growth Infrastructure evidence session. The UK’s cultural sector contributes around £38.2bn in Gross Value Added (GVA), comparable to agriculture, energy supply or telecommunications, yet it receives considerably less recognition in the frameworks that guide public investment. Culture already delivers what government seeks to achieve: sustainable growth, healthy communities and a confident national story. The task now is to recognise it as such; openly, coherently and with communal intent.
