PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Creative Education - 16 January 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

My hon. Friend will know that the Education Secretary has launched a review of the national curriculum to put art, sport and music back at its heart, where they belong. We were appalled by the way that the previous Government ran down the creative subjects, leading to a huge drop-off in the number of young people taking those subjects at GCSE. Labelling them all as Mickey Mouse subjects is not just entirely offensive but incredibly damaging to the economy. The creative industries support one in seven jobs in this country, and we are determined to equip our young people to get those jobs, contribute to this country and write the next chapter of our national story.

I thank the Secretary of State for her answer. Every young person deserves to experience the magic of music. Thanks to wonderful organisations in my constituency of Harlow such as Rock School and Livewire, many get that opportunity, but not all of them. What is she doing to work with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that young people can discover their talent, wherever they come from?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and we are determined for that to change. I am not sure whether I have mentioned that I recently went on a visit with Ed Sheeran—[Interruption.] Thirty-eight times, says my hon. Friend the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism. In Ipswich, an entire ecosystem is being created that equips young people with those skills and that love of music at school, and goes all the way through enabling them to perform at smaller and larger live music venues, and to get the skills that they need to work in the music industry. We would like to replicate that model around the country. We are working with the newly formed Ed Sheeran Foundation and others to progress this model. As my hon. Friend the Minister mentioned, I have asked him to come up with a 10-point plan to support the music industry. By the time we have finished, it will probably be about 100 points, but we make no apologies for wanting to grip this issue and bring the magic of music to every child in the country.

As the Secretary of State will know, Scotland’s budget commits to a landmark £34 million uplift in cultural spending, with £20 million going to Creative Scotland to support creative education funding groups, such as Sistema Scotland and the Youth Music Initiative. Will she encourage her Scottish Labour colleagues to get behind this spending, and to vote for the budget?

I recently met incredible groups from Scotland that are doing great work through charitable trusts to extend the power of music to every child in Scotland. They have a particular emphasis on children in care, which we really welcome, and would like to replicate. Scotland is also creating music libraries across the country to ensure that young people have access to instruments. I have discussed that with Angus Robertson, my counterpart in the Scottish Government. This Government want a much more constructive relationship with the Scottish Government. When it comes to music, party political differences should be laid aside, and we should work together to make sure that all young people can access the magic that music brings.