Andy Haldane says funding ‘social infrastructure’ and cultural institutions is crucial for communities

Now is the time to “invest, and invest big” in radical millennium-style arts and culture projects across the UK, an economist has urged ahead of the Labour government’s first budget on Wednesday.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, needs to urgently fund projects that “make lives livable” to help rebuild deprived parts of the country, said Andy Haldane, the chief executive of the Royal Society for Arts and former chief economist at the Bank of England.