The Arts Council England has today published its first analysis of the value of arts and culture to the national economy, finding that the sector has a turnover of £12.8bn.

The report, which was carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), finds that arts and culture make up 0.4 per cent of GDP – with a turnover of £12.8bn per annum.

The arts and culture industry employed, on average, 110,600 full-time employees in the UK from 2008 to 2011, representing about 0.45 per cent of total employment in the UK. Further, the sector pays nearly five per cent more than the UK median salary of £26,095.

Also, at least £856m per annum of spending by tourists visiting the UK can be attributed directly to arts and culture, the study claims.

The report also highlights the role of arts and culture in supporting commercial creative industries such as museums providing sources of inspiration for fashion designers, and the sector providing business support, including low-cost work space and advice about intellectual property, to new commercial creative enterprises.

Alan Davey, chief executive of Arts Council England, said: “We fund arts and culture because they have a unique ability to fire our imaginations, to inspire and entertain us. The contribution culture makes to our quality of life, as a society and as individuals, will always be our primary concern.

“As the government considers the creative sector in its forthcoming Industrial Strategy, it is clear that the role of the arts and culture industry as a research and development pipeline must be properly considered. Not to do so is to ignore a key part of our economy and future prosperity.”

The set of activities which defined the scope of CEBR’s analysis were: theatre, dance, literature, visual arts, music and combined arts and museums.