Participation Survey 2023–24 annual publication
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-13)

The results of the Participation Survey, covering the period from May 2023 to March 2024.

The Participation Survey (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/participation-survey) started in October 2021 and is the key evidence source on engagement for DCMS. It is a continuous push-to-web household survey of adults aged 16 and over in England.

The Participation Survey provides nationally representative estimates of physical and digital engagement with the arts, heritage, museums & galleries, and libraries, as well as engagement with tourism, major events, live sports and digital.

In 2023/24, DCMS partnered with Arts Council England (ACE) to boost the Participation Survey to be able to produce meaningful estimates at Local Authority level. This has enabled us to have the most granular data we have ever had, which means there were some new questions and changes to existing questions, response options and definitions in the 23/24 survey. The questionnaire for 2023/24 has been developed collaboratively to adapt to the needs and interests of both DCMS and ACE.
- Released: 24 July 2024.
- Period covered: May 2023 to March 2024.
- Geographic coverage: National , regional and local authority level data for England.
- Next release date: September 2024.
The Participation Survey is only asked of adults in England. Currently there is no harmonised survey or set of questions within the administrations of the UK. Data on participation in cultural sectors for the devolved administrations is available in the Scottish Household Survey (https://www.gov.scot/collections/scottish-household-survey/), National Survey for Wales (https://gov.wales/national-survey-wales) and Northern Ireland Continuous Household Survey (https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics-and-research/culture-and-heritage-statistics).

The pre-release access document above contains a list of ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release of Participation Survey data. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours. Details on the pre-release access arrangements for this dataset are available in the accompanying material.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR. OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics (https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/the-code/) that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards by emailing xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing xxx@xxx.xx or via the OSR website (https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/).

Patterns were identified in Census 2021 data that suggest that some respondents may not have interpreted the gender identity question as intended, notably those with lower levels of English language proficiency. Analysis of Scotland’s census (https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-sexual-orientation-and-trans-status-or-history/), where the gender identity question was different, has added weight to this observation. Similar respondent error may have occurred during the data collection for these statistics so comparisons between subnational and other smaller group breakdowns should be considered with caution. More information can be found in the ONS sexual orientation and gender identity quality information report (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/sexuality/methodologies/sexualorientationandgenderidentityqualityinformationforcensus2021), and in the National Statistical blog about the strengths and limitations of gender identity statistics (https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2024/09/12/better-understanding-the-strengths-and-limitations-of-gender-identity-statistics/).

The responsible statisticians for this release is Donilia Asgill and Ella Bentin. For enquiries on this release, contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).