APPG: Making the Economic Case for Creative Health
Published: 21st October, 2026
On 19 October 2026, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Creative Health brought together researchers, commissioners, funders and policymakers at the House of Lords to discuss how to make the economic case for creative health.
The Government’s shifts from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention, depend on services that keep people well. Creative health can support both, but its value has rarely been set out in the terms that HM Treasury’s Green Book and NHS commissioning require.
Chaired by Dr Simon Opher MP, the roundtable looked at how to build the economic evidence that HM Treasury’s Green Book and NHS commissioning require.
Speakers from DHSC, DCMS, NHS integrated care boards, three UKRI research councils, Arts Council of Wales and Odd Arts reflected on how creative health can support the Government’s shifts from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention.
MCA researchers recommended a proportionate national minimum dataset for creative health, linked with NHS, public health and social care data. It would measure quality of life, life satisfaction, and GP and A&E use, each with a standard Green Book value.
Gloucestershire ICB showed what linked data can do: it found fewer GP visits and A&E attendances, and creative health has become a routine part of its clinical pathways.
Emily Smith of Odd Arts described the organisation’s move to matched before-and-after wellbeing measures. She explained that there was an initial fear that participants would feel assessed and that practitioners would become assessors rather than relationship-builders. Instead, they found a good balance and retained the flexibility of their work. Their biggest lesson was the need to take staff with them, supported by training.
Speakers
Chair: Dr Simon Opher, MP
Sponsored by: Lord Babudu, House of Lords
Witnessed by: John Slinger, MP for Rugby
Research and practice
- Professor Helen Chatterjee, Professor of Human & Ecological Health, University College London
- Dr Daniel Fujiwara, Behavioural Economist
- Emily Smith, Senior Project Manager Wellbeing and Resettlement, Odd Arts
- Jeff Potts, Lived Experience Participant, Odd Arts
Health systems
- Ellie Hobart, Deputy Director of Health Equity and Inclusion, NHS North East London ICB
- Stephen Sandford, Strategic Lead for Neighbourhood Health, NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB
- Dr Justin Varney-Bennett, Director of Public Health, NHS South West; Creative Health Lead, DHSC
Policy and funding
- Harman Sagger, Head Economist for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, DCMS
- Dr Jaideep Gupte, Director of Research, Strategy and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council
- Dr Jen Gold, Executive Director of Research, Economic and Social Research Council
- Dr Glenn Wells, Deputy Executive Chair, Medical Research Council
- Rosie Dow, Head of Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Arts Council of Wales
Key recommendations
- Fund a national minimum dataset. A proportionate dataset and shared data infrastructure, built on the four core indicators and linked with NHS, public health and social care data.
- Give the infrastructure a policy owner. DCMS was recommended to lead on policy ownership and convening with DHSC, linked to public service reform, with UKRI research councils, including MRC, supporting national convening.
- Prioritise providers’ evaluation and training capacity. Training and support so small organisations can collect proportionate, comparable data.
- ICB's to commission proportionately and through core pathways. Convene local providers and include creative health from the start of strategic commissioning.
- Sustain cultural assets and the workforce. Cultural funding to keep provision in place as health investment follows.
- Bring health scrutiny and the public into the conversation. Build a public narrative for creative health.
Watch the roundtable recording here:
APPG Resources
- Event Briefing: Agenda l The economic case for creative health
- Speaker Briefing: Making the economic case for creative health
Creative Health Economics Resources
- Creative Health Economics: The Economic Business Case for Creative Health
- Embedding Creative Health in Integrated Care Systems: Insights from Gloucestershire
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