Ballet

Baroness Garden of Frognal Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

It is very good to be facing questions today from at least two excellent dancers—that is no slight on my noble friend. The noble Baroness raises, as have other noble Lords, the question of certainty around the music and dance scheme, which, as she says, the Government have consistently committed to as we commit to revitalising and widening access to arts education. We continue to fund that scheme, providing bursaries to more than 2,000 students. This means that means-tested, targeted support for students from lower-income families can continue. Funding for the academic year 2026-27 onward will be announced in due course. Although it has not been the case for some time that there have been multiyear settlements, I understand the noble Baroness’s point about certainty for students who are starting on courses and their families.

[Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD)]

My Lords, I confess that I had to do compulsory ballet when I was a little, round, fat six year-old, so I am not in the elite. As well as the Central School of Ballet, a great number of small, specialist performing arts providers, highly regarded internationally, send their overseas students there. But, of course, providing these courses and keeping a pipeline of high-level tutors is more expensive than for many other subjects, so can the Minister assure us that this will be taken into account when the funding is being considered?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

Yes. That is the reason why, as part of the strategic priorities grant, 12 of the 20 small, specialist providers are the type of high-quality performing arts providers that the noble Baroness was talking about. Those 20 providers are being supported in this financial year by £57.4 million precisely because of the point that she has made: they are small, highly specialised and internationally recognised. They therefore have costs that need to be particularly recognised, which is what has happened through the strategic priorities grant.