Chancellor George Osborne has announced that grassroots sport, arts and museums will have to undergo funding cuts as the coalition government looks to curb government spending by £11.5bn.

Announcing his Spending Review at the House of Commons, Osborne said there would be less money available for grassroots sport and museums and both would see a 5 per cent cut in funding.

The overall budget of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will be cut by 7 per cent.

Funding for elite sport, however, will remain the same.

In his speech, Osborne added that museums would be given "more freedom" - which could mean the introduction of entry fees for national museums.

Meanwhile, the budget for Arts Council England has also been cut by 5 per cent.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, chair for Arts Council England, said that the five per cent cut was the "best case scenario in what are difficult and testing economic times," although the levels of cuts for local authorities was a "cause for concern."

The cuts are set to come to force in April 2015 and the Labour party has said that if it were to win the next elections, then it would match the coalition government's current spending totals for a full one-year period.