Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on closures of music (a) departments and (b) courses at universities in each of the last 10 years.

The department does not hold data on the number of music departments, or on the establishment or closure of individual distinct music courses offered by higher education providers (HEPs). However, the department does hold data on the numbers of student enrolments in music courses more generally, and the number of HEPs offering these courses. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), which is now part of JISC, is responsible for collecting and publishing data about UK higher education (HE). The latest statistics refer to the 2021/22 academic year.

The data on HE student enrolments by HEP and subjects of study for the 2014/15 to 2018/19 academic years is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-13.

The data on HE student enrolments by HEP and subject of study for the 2019/20 to 2021/22 academic years is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49.

In the 2014/15 academic year, there were 102 HEPs that enrolled 24,620 students in music courses. In the 2021/22 academic year, this increased to 120 HEPs enrolling 37,090 students in music courses.

Counts are on the basis of full-person-equivalents. Where a student is studying more than one subject, they are apportioned between the subjects that make up their course. Figures provided are for UK HEPs enrolments for all modes and levels of study, and for all domiciles. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five, in line with HESA rounding conventions. More information on the figures is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/definitions/students#rounding-and-suppression-strategy.

The figures from 2019/20 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years due to the introduction of a new subject classification system, called the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS), which replaced the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS3).

Further information on HECoS and JACS can be found via the following: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/hecos, and https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs.