Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Music Education

Thursday 16 November 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse welcomed Bath young carers from the Bath Philharmonia to perform music in Parliament.
  • The Minister acknowledged the event and mentioned an investment of 25 million in musical instruments through music hubs.
  • Barbara Keeley noted a socio-economic divide in music tuition access, to which the Minister responded with a commitment to investment and provided a promise to give details on the allocation of funds in writing.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Education
Context

The MP noted a decline in GCSE music entrants by 12.5% and welcomed Bath young carers from the Bath Philharmonia to perform music in Parliament.

Question

I recently welcomed Bath young carers from the Bath Philharmonia to perform music in Parliament, and it was a wonderful evening. Sadly, too few young people have the opportunity to learn an instrument, or to perform or enjoy music, and the number of GCSE music entrants has fallen by 12.5%. The Minister mentioned the new national plan for music education. Will he update us on how many schools have implemented that plan, and will we get regular updates about any increase in the number of GCSE music entrants?

Answer from John Whittingdale

I am sorry that I was unable to hear the visiting group from the hon. Lady's constituency, but I am delighted that it came. As I have said, we are investing £25 million in the provision of musical instruments through music hubs. I can tell her that the proportion of pupils studying for a music qualification at key stage 14 over the past years has remained stable at about 7% to 8%. The Government remain committed to investment through the music hub investment programme, and I am happy to give her a specific answer to the question she raises about the allocation of that money in writing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for an update on how many schools have implemented the new national plan for music education. The Minister did not provide this information and instead focused on ongoing investment and stable GCSE participation rates.

How: Under Review

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Q2 Wera Hobhouse Lib Dem Bath
Education
Context

The MP welcomed Bath young carers from the Bath Philharmonia to perform music in Parliament and highlighted a decline in GCSE music entrants by 12.5%.

Question

I recently welcomed Bath young carers from the Bath Philharmonia to perform music in Parliament, and it was a wonderful evening. Sadly, too few young people have the opportunity to learn an instrument, or to perform or enjoy music, and the number of GCSE music entrants has fallen by 12.5%. The Minister mentioned the new national plan for music education. Will he update us on how many schools have implemented that plan, and will we get regular updates about any increase in the number of GCSE music entrants?

Answer from John Whittingdale

I am sorry that I was unable to hear the visiting group from the hon. Lady's constituency, but I am delighted that it came. As I have said, we are investing £25 million in the provision of musical instruments through music hubs. I can tell her that the proportion of pupils studying for a music qualification at key stage 4 over the past years has remained stable at about 7% to 8%. The Government remain committed to investment through the music hub investment programme, and I am happy to give her a specific answer to the question she raises about the allocation of that money in writing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for an update on how many schools have implemented the new national plan for music education. The Minister did not provide this information and instead focused on ongoing investment and stable GCSE participation rates.

How: Under Review

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Q3 Barbara Keeley Lab
Education
Context

The MP expressed appreciation for the Bath young carers' performance and highlighted a concern about the divide between children from different socio-economic backgrounds in accessing music education.

Question

I have to say that the Bath young carers played wonderfully, and I really enjoyed listening to them. Ofsted recently stated that there remains a “divide between children and young people whose families can afford to pay for music tuition and those who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds.” The money promised for musical instruments in June 2022 has still not been distributed to schools, and it now sounds as though that money is not going to arrive until autumn 2024. Will that delay not just mean that more children are not able to learn to play an instrument? What action can the Minister take to speed it up?

Answer from John Whittingdale

I can tell the hon. Lady that the Government remain committed to investment through the music hub investment programme, and I am happy to give her a specific answer to the question she raises about the allocation of that money in writing. The Government are working very closely with the DFE on this, and we also look forward to producing a cultural education plan in early 2024.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The MP asked for specific actions to speed up distribution of funds. The Minister did not provide concrete steps but stated that they are working closely with the DFE and will produce a cultural education plan in early 2024.

How: Under Review

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