Results from the first comprehensive analysis of the value of arts and culture to the national economy have been revealed, showing turnover in the sector to be £12.4bn.

Completed by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the analysis found arts and culture generate more per pound invested than the health, wholesale and retail, and professional and business services sectors.

Arts and culture make up 0.4 per cent of GDP while attracting less than 0.1 per cent of government spending.

At least £856m per annum of spending by tourists visiting the UK can be attributed directly to arts and culture and the industry provides 0.45 per cent of total UK employment.

Arts Council England is now considering how it can capitalise on areas outlined in the report such as cultural education, driving tourism, cultural exports and the sector's contribution to growth in the creative sector.

Chief executive for the Arts Council, Alan Davey, said: "The contribution culture makes to our quality of life, as a society and as individuals, will always be our primary concern.

"But at a time when public finances are under such pressure, it is also right to examine all the benefits that investment in arts and culture can bring - and to consider how we can make the most effective use of that contribution."