Introduction
11.1 In this chapter 'culture' is principally taken to mean the 'cultural sector' as defined by the Data Evidence Toolkit (DET) published by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) 4 . Most data on business count, employment and turnover presented in this chapter are derived from the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes identified in the DET. Note these categories are being reviewed by DCMS and ONS. According to this definition, the cultural sector comprises the following seven sub-sectors or domains:
- Audio-Visual (includes film, TV, radio, new media and music)
- Books and Press
- Heritage (includes museums, libraries, archives and historic environment)
- Performance (includes theatre, arts and dance)
- Sport (includes fitness and health activities)
- Tourism (includes gambling and betting activities)
- Visual Arts (includes galleries, architecture, design and crafts)
11.2 This chapter examines statistical data for cultural activity in the South West and the impact culture has on the region’s profile and economic capacity, and on broader social factors such as community cohesion and social inclusion.
11.3 When dealing statistically with the cultural sector in any region, caution is necessary because of the relative lack of robust and comprehensive data across the domains. This problem is not unique to the cultural sector but is exacerbated by a large freelance workforce and predominance of small and micro sized businesses which are unlikely to be VAT registered and therefore not counted in official statistics.