£160m inherited “black hole” in Music Education
4th February 2025
Background
Titled The Power of Music to Change Lives, the refreshed National Plan for Music Education (NPME) in England was released on 25 June 2022 by the Department for Education. It replaced the previous NPME which was published in 2011. The plan sets out the government’s vision to enable all children and young people in England to:
- learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together
- have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally
In May 2024, we commissioned an independent think tank, Demos, to cost the English National Plan for Music Education. This research will allow us to understand the full costs associated with the government’s National Plan and therefore the real level of support needed for providers to deliver the plan. Today, we launch the findings of the report:
The findings
Demos has revealed that the government has inherited a “black hole” in its budget for music education amounting to a £161.4m shortfall. Researchers found that the National Plan for Music Education was short of £32.3m per year to cover the costs of regional Music Hubs – partnerships of music services, music departments, venues, clubs and other organisations. A total of £161.4m in new and hidden costs is needed over the next five years to ensure the future of music education.
According to figures from UK Music, the industry generated £7.6bn for the economy in 2023, including record exports revenues of £4.6bn. The industry supported the equivalent of 216,000 jobs in this period.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to make music education a priority for his government and “reverse the degrading of creative arts and music”. The Prime Minister was a scholar at the Guildhall School of Music as a child and plays the piano, violin, flute and recorder. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has accused previous governments of turning areas of the country into “cultural deserts” and recently pledged to “turbocharge” the creative industries.
The report draws on original survey data, Arts Council England data and workshops with Music Hub leaders, school leaders and others. The report details a range of challenges facing music educators across the country, including:
- Inflation causing cost challenges across the board, including pressures on staff salaries and increased venue hire
- A shortage of specialist music teachers
- Accountability measures, such as the EBacc (English Baccalaureate), seeing music and the creative arts squeezed out of schools
- A lack of appropriate local venues, limiting performance opportunities for children and young people in certain parts of the country
The report presents a series of recommendations to make this ambition a reality:
- Boost funding to help Music Hubs deliver music education for all by meeting their £32.3m annual cost – just 0.03 per cent of the total UK education spend
- Liberate Music Hubs from restricted funding and reporting constraints, with greater flexibility on how the Capital Grant can be used
- Restore the essential place of music education in schools, dialling back accountability measures that squeeze the arts out of music education and offering more generous bursaries for music education specialists
- Mobilise support from the wider music sector and industry
- Rejuvenate “cultural deserts” through targeted local investment, simplified funding arrangements, and an investment in community spaces, including venues
Bridget Whyte, CEO of The UK Association for Music Education – Music Mark, said:
“This independent report confirms what we at Music Mark have been saying for some time and reinforces much of the evidence I gave to the Education Select Committee last May. The ambition within the new National Plan for Music Education is welcomed, but the reality is that the funding given to the Music Hub network to deliver that ambition for all children and young people in their area is not enough.
“The hub partnerships can and do generate income locally, but government investment needs to be realistic and keep pace with inflation and pupil population growth. Unless there is a realistic revenue grant, the ability to continue to address spiralling staff, venue, equipment and transport costs whilst meeting the aim of musical opportunities being available to every child cannot be realised.”
Michael Price, the EMMY-winning composer and pianist, said:
“Without my music education, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’ve composed music for incredible film and TV projects, like Sherlock, Unforgotten and Dracula, and worked with the widest range of artists, from Metallica to Bill Nighy (in his amazing singing role in Love, Actually).
“I’d have never had the chance to do that without the opportunities I was given to learn, rehearse and create music from an early age. Without sufficient funding for music education, we risk a generation of young people who never get the opportunity to learn an instrument or experience all that music education has to offer.”
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, the author and music education advocate, said:
“Music education should not be an expensive luxury reserved for the few, but a right deserved by all children. Music develops creative intelligence, intellectual and social confidence, teamwork and wellbeing.
“My own children benefitted hugely from the music education they received in their state primary and secondary schools, and they are devastated by the reduction of funding. Access to music depends on investment and without it, the majority of our school population are losing the value and the necessity of music-learning.”
