Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)

My Lords, I start with an enormous thank you to the noble Lord, Lord Blackwell, for bringing forward this important debate. The number of people taking part demonstrates the strength of feeling in this House and, clearly, beyond. I thank all noble Lords who have spoken, who have considerable experience in this area. It is always an enormous privilege to hear them. I mentioned before my personal interest from my role as the leader of Leeds City Council, when I took on its cultural portfolio. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Fraser, who talked about ballet shoes, and my noble friend Lady Ramsey, who spoke of her personal experience, I have personal experience from a granddaughter who is very involved in this area, and thank goodness—it is wonderful to see, as we have heard from all who contributed. I make clear from the outset that access to specialist music and dance education must not be the preserve of the privileged few. This is the Government’s clear view. In emphasising the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, we have to stress this throughout, despite the difficult times through which we are living. As part of our opportunity mission, we want to widen access to the arts, so that young people can develop their creativity and find their expression and voice. This is important in its own right—subjects such as music and dance are a critical part of a rich education—but it also supports young people with the dedication to excel in the performing arts. In closing this debate, I underline this Government’s commitment to maintaining affordable access to specialist music and dance education so that, regardless of their background, high-achieving young people can access specialist training. As we have heard through the debate, the Government continue to provide generous support to help students access specialist music and dance education and training. We committed £36.5 million to the music and dance scheme this academic year, as we have heard. I will pick up on the comments of the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, and the noble Lord, Lord Addington, about the contribution that the sector makes to the richness of our economy. We know that growth is the Government’s number one mission and that the new industrial strategy is central to that. This is a sector in which the UK excels today and will propel us forward tomorrow. The creative industries have been announced as one of the eight growth-driving sectors in the industrial strategy, which has been published following the multi-year spending review. The creative industries sector plan has been designed in collaboration with business and devolved Governments and the regions. It is critical that we provide a workforce with the right skills and capabilities, as we will go on to discuss. I am looking forward very much to the Government’s work on skills and where this sits within it. I emphasise that the scheme provides income-assessed bursaries and grants to enable high-achieving children and young people in music and dance to benefit from world-class specialist training, regardless of their personal and financial circumstances. The scheme supports students to attend eight independent schools and 20 centres for advanced training, the latter providing places at weekends and evenings and in the school holidays. Bursaries support more than 2,000 pupils a year, with around 900 pupils attending schools. I emphasise that all families earning below the average relevant income of £45,000 per annum and making parental contributions will continue to receive additional financial support this academic year, so they will be unaffected financially by the VAT change in January 2025. The music and dance scheme is a long-term commitment and the Government will continue to look at it. We know that there is enormous gratitude for the additional £4 million covering the issue of VAT. I want to give reassurance that due consideration will be given to the cost of providing specialist education, including consideration of the points made today by the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, my noble friend Lady Royall, and the noble Lords, Lord Vaizey, Lord Black and Lord Hall. They all made important points about long-term funding, and the noble Earl, Lord Effingham, emphasised them. I have to say, however, that we have been, in the main, in this space for more than two decades. This is not something new that has been brought in. The current scheme was established in, I think, 2002 under the previous Labour Government. We need to be clear about where we are going forward. We know that we have had to make tough decisions to get our finances back under control—the noble Lord, Lord Hall, referred to this—including some additional non-bursary funding and some music and dance scheme centres. The main bursary funding itself has, however, been protected. All eligible students from the last academic year have continued to receive MDS bursaries, and new eligible students will have commenced at the beginning of this term. The Government will also ensure that high-quality arts education, including in music and dance, is available across all state-funded schools. To achieve this, additional support for our schools and teachers is needed. We acknowledge this. I want to pick up on the comments of my noble friend Lady Warwick on the impact of EBacc and recognising the need for pupils to be prepared and ready for training as the noble Lord, Lord Addington said. We want every child, regardless of background, to have a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum. I am sure all noble Lords will be aware that we are still awaiting the launch of the independent review of curriculum assessment, chaired by Professor Becky Francis. She is looking at all subjects. She is looking at music and seeks to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including in creative subjects and skills. It is being informed by evidence and data, and in close consultation with education professionals and other experts. Parents, children, young people and other stakeholders, such as employers, have been involved in that work. The final report is very close to being published but I cannot pre-empt the outcome of that review, as I am sure noble Lords will be aware, despite requests for me to do so. We will of course consider associated implications for accountability measures, such as EBacc and Progress 8, alongside this. It is fundamental that we take this incredibly seriously. I hope noble Lords understand that the Government are emphasising these points, as my noble friend Lord Liddle highlighted. On additional support, again, that is why we announced in March our intention to launch the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education as we go forward. We believe that the new centre will help us to meet our ambitions for improved and equitable arts education. The centre will support schools in teaching music and dance, as well as art and design and drama. It will also be the national delivery partner for the music hubs network, with the 43 hub partnerships central to supporting schools. Our intention is to appoint a delivery partner for the centre through an open, competitive procurement. We have been engaging with sector stakeholders, including the music hubs network, to refine the details of the centre. The invitation to tender is due to be issued soon. Again, in recognising how important this is, the music hubs grant funding of £76 million has been secured for the full academic year of 2025-26 and to the end of August 2026. Following the outcome of the spending review, longer-term funding will be confirmed in due course. The Government continue to invest £25 million in capital funding to widen access to musical instruments and technology to the end of this year. I am taking a bit of licence here in what I pick up, with the permission of the Whip, because we have until 3 pm.