Autumn Budget: Letter to the Secretary of State for Education

On 1st November 2024, we wrote to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, in response to the Autumn Budget announced on Wednesday 30th October. In this letter, we shared our hopes that the increase to the Department for Education’s budget will lead to greater opportunities for children and young people to participate in musical learning. We also raised concerns about the lack of sufficient funding for music education in England, and how some aspects of the budget will create significant challenges for music services and other music education organisations. We requested an increase in the Music Hub Revenue Grant to ensure that creative opportunities are available to all children and young people. You can read the full letter below.

We received a response on 26th November 2024 from Catherine McKinnell, Minister for School Standards. Having received this response from the minister, Music Mark will be going back to the DfE for further clarity on some points, and will share any additional information with the membership in due course. You can read the response below.

Dear Secretary of State for Education

I am writing on behalf of the membership of the UK Association for Music Education – Music Mark, and in particular the organisations and individuals that make up the 43 Music Hub partnerships across England. 

We are delighted that the Chancellor recognises the importance of investment in education for our country’s children and young people, and we hope that the injection of a ‘real terms 19% increase’ to the Department for Education’s budget will have a significant impact on the education sector’s ability to provide pupils with the opportunities they need and deserve to thrive. We hope that this will include opportunities to participate in musical learning in and out of the classroom and school.   

The previous government was unable to match its ambitions for music education with sufficient money and funding now stands at £6m a year less in cash terms than in 2010. Inflation, pay, pension and all other costs have risen year-on-year, eroding the spending power of the grant, and it has been the children and young people who have felt the impact. Fewer pupils can afford to access provision as charges to schools and parents have risen to continue to pay the workforce and maintain the infrastructure around it. 

Music education providers across the country have worked tirelessly (and at some expense to their personal wellbeing) to mitigate for the shortfall in government support and to ensure equitable opportunities for the pupils they serve but this innovation cannot be maintained indefinitely. The news of renewed government investment in schools is welcome but the increase in taxes to fund them will have a negative impact on organisations. One music service trust in the midlands has reported that the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions will cost £100,000:  a challenge they can address either by increasing fees to parents and schools, or by reducing services and support for children and young people, such as fee remissions. 

We recognise that the government must make difficult decisions in the face of a significant financial challenge. We hope that your department’s commitment to ensure creative education opportunities for all children and young people, regardless of where they live and their personal, social, or financial circumstances, will be evidenced in an increase in funding for music education provision through the Music Hub Revenue Grant. 

Yours sincerely

Bridget Whyte
CEO, The UK Association for Music Education – Music Mark

Response received 26 November 2024:

Dear Ms Whyte,

Thank you for your correspondence of 1 November, addressed to the Secretary of State, regarding music education. I am replying as the minister responsible for this policy area.

I would like to assure you that the government believes that music is an important element of a well-rounded and enriching education every child deserves to receive and is not the preserve of a privileged few.

I recognise the issues you raise, and acknowledge the dedication and commitment shown by music education providers in working to ensure that opportunities in music are available to all children and young people, regardless of where they live or their circumstances. That is why we have already confirmed more than £79 million revenue funding for Music Hubs for this academic year, alongside capital funding of £25 million for musical instruments and equipment, which will support music education in 90% of primaries and 82% of secondaries in England.

In addition, we have recently announced a new £2 million initiative for the Music Opportunities Pilot over four years. This will support disadvantaged children in schools in some of the most deprived areas of the country to develop their talents and progress in a musical instrument or in singing.

As you are aware, we have difficult choices to make in the next financial year to meet significant cost pressures. In relation to curriculum support for arts and music education alone, these pressures include funding fair uplifts to music teachers’ pay and meeting increased pensions costs for the workforce that provides vital music provision for children up and down the country. Programme funding for the financial year 2025-26 onwards is subject to the outcomes of the ongoing Spending Review and details will be set out in due course.

I understand that you and colleagues from Music Mark meet regularly with departmental officials to discuss music education and I encourage you to maintain this dialogue.

Thank you for writing to the department. I hope that this response is useful for you.

Yours,
Catherine McKinnell MP
Minister for School Standards