Lords debate arts and wellbeing

Concerns that funding for arts and health research could be scaled down were among issues raised in a House of Lords debate on the Arts’ Contribution to Education, Health and Emotional Well-being that took place last week.

The Question for Short Debate was asked by Labour peer Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, who welcomed the number of new efforts to measure the impact of the arts, despite potential funding cuts.

Former GP Lord Rea spoke about the arts’ role as a factor in a holistic view of health: “To say that the arts entertain us and cheer us up is only part of the picture. By helping to lift depression, the arts can improve our mental health and this can, in the ways I have suggested, lead to better physical health.”

The debate also covered the positive contribution the arts make in education and in prisoner rehabilitation, and touched upon the Government’s focus on the economic value of the arts.

The Earl of Clancarty, who also works as an artist, praised a recent speech made by Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop in which she championed the arts for their intrinsic value.

He commented “Artists and the arts sector would have to wait forever to hear a message like that from a Government at Westminster.”

Arts: Contribution to Education, Health and Emotional Well-being