Arts and Creative Industries: Social Mobility

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd December 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Earl of Clancarty]

To ask His Majesty’s Government how they intend to improve social mobility for careers in the arts and creative industries.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)]

My Lords, making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. I agree wholeheartedly with the premise of the Question that there is an issue for us to address. That is why our refreshed £9 million creative careers service will focus on supporting priority areas where young people face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities. It is also why last month we announced new funding for the King’s Trust to support direct routes for underrepresented groups into jobs, education and training in the sector.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, the Sutton Trust finds that there are barriers to young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds at every stage of the creative industries pipeline—in schools, higher education and job opportunities. Does the Minister agree that the continuing loss of arts courses in higher education, from the loss of the prestigious undergraduate drama course at the Bristol Old Vic to the suspension of music courses at Nottingham University, does not sit well with the Government’s intent to improve arts education in state schools and increase social mobility in the creative industries?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

High-quality arts education cannot be for the privileged few. To provide certainty over future funding, we are increasing tuition fee caps by forecast inflation next year and the year after. Alongside this, we continue to invest in creative arts through the strategic priorities grant, which includes support for world-leading creative institutions. We will also revitalise arts education in schools through a reformed curriculum and support for teachers.