Cultural organisations will have to help to provide “art on prescription” to retain public funding, an inquiry has said.
The Arts Council, which distributes public money to hundreds of organisations, has backed the recommendations of a parliamentary group that investigated the benefits of artistic activities for people who are unwell.
The chairman of the all-party parliamentary group inquiry into arts, health and wellbeing, Lord Howarth of Newport, said one of the group’s recommendations, that the Arts Council make “health and wellbeing outcomes integral” to the work of organisations it funds between 2020 and 2030, had been accepted by its chairman, Sir Nicholas Serota.
Lord Howarth, a former Labour arts minister, said: “[The Arts Council] should make it central to its new ten-year strategy to use arts to promote health and wellbeing.”
The parliamentary group’s report concluded that referrals for artistic activities such as music lessons, or museum visits for patients suffering from conditions including chronic pain, dementia, stroke and depression, resulted in significant savings for the health service.
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Lord Howarth added: “Arts can help keep us well, aid our recovery from illness; arts can enable us to live longer lives and better quality lives.”