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The Prime Minister is used to appeals from the arts world for increased funding. But today's open letter to the Evening Standard calling for the maintenance of public support for the arts is particularly striking for the range and diversity of its signatories. They include not only artists like Tracey Emin but architects such as Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster; the tailor Ozwald Boateng; and fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Paul Smith. The point they make is that the benefits of a flourishing arts scene are widely spread, with museums, visual arts, cinema and theatre inspiring the wider creative economy.

The run-up to this autumn's Comprehensive Spending Review is an anxious one for the arts. Already Lottery funding has been severely curtailed - by £152 million over the next four years - as a result of the Olympics' first call on its resources. This has hit funding for museum and gallery acquisitions hard. The Treasury has warned that everyone should plan for cuts; certainly, few people expect a rise in funding greater than inflation.

A below-inflation settlement - a cut in real terms - would have a marked impact on London's museums, galleries and the performing arts. The sums of money involved may seem small but that means even small cuts have a disproportionate effect. The arts have flourished thanks to improved funding, and the public has embraced that success. Meanwhile, arts institutions have delivered on the Government's demands that they should be more inclusive, appealing to ethnic minorities and first-time audiences.

The arts have made a huge contribution to Britain's creative life over the past decade. If they are to continue to contribute to the wider economy in this way, as well as to the sum of public pleasures and the quality of London life, they need core funding from the Government to be maintained at least at present levels.