The Public Campaign for the Arts found spending on public libraries, entertainment venues, museums, galleries and recreation facilities by councils has dropped to £59.90 per person per year, from £118.93 just over a decade ago.

Jack Gamble, director of the Public Campaign for the Arts, said: ‘The arts are not a luxury – they provide vital benefits to our lives and communities. We appreciate the financial pressures that local councils are under, partly due to cuts from national government since 2010, but sacrificing our cultural services is not the answer. We have to find a way to keep funding them alongside other services – it shouldn’t be an either/or.’