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.

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