Queen’s Speech

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Thursday 12th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, I will talk about the arts, arts education and levelling up. There was no mention of the creative industries in the Queen’s Speech. This is a serious omission as it has become increasingly clear in recent years that these industries will play a major part in the future of this country. However, I too am glad that a DCMS Minister is responding.

The term “creative economy” is mentioned in the detailed document, in relation only to public broadcasting and the proposed privatisation of Channel 4 in particular. I will say no more about that, other than to ask the Minister to take particular note of the point about foreign ownership made by the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, and to speculate whether Channel 4 would not be eventually swallowed up by one of the giants with which the Government misguidedly would like our public broadcasters to compete.

As we emerge from the pandemic, the arts in particular should play a significant part in this process, in terms of creativity, opportunities, access, education, community and the financial returns which, in normal times, should benefit not just the country as a whole but our regions as well. The arts sector has of course been grateful for the necessary help provided during the pandemic, but the fear is that we will return to the cold reality of longer-term cuts. This is evidenced by the National Campaign for the Arts Arts Index survey of 2020, which showed that public funding for the arts per head of population fell by a huge 35% since 2008 and, interestingly, that business sponsorship of the arts has fallen by 39% since 2013. Further cuts would be destructive at a time when the arts are still struggling to get back on their feet, including on the repayment of emergency loans. This fear includes London, where there is huge concern over the 15% reduction of funding the Arts Council has been instructed to make on its NPOs, some of which may fold as a result.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Bonham-Carter, pointed out, the principle of levelling up across the country is important, but robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the right answer. It is a policy that ignores the importance of the interactive cultural relationship between London and the regions. Earlier this year Sadiq Khan said that this will damage the UK’s—not just London’s—recovery from the pandemic. He also said:

“London has some of the most deprived communities in the country. Cutting arts funding for these communities is the opposite of levelling up”.


Of course, what we actually mean by funding is investment.

We have a Brexit freedoms Bill but, as UK Music pointed out in its helpful briefing, we should not ignore the importance of Europe as a market and a partner. For the music industry, which was worth £5.8 billion to the economy pre-pandemic, there continue to be concerns about touring in Europe. We need an UK-EU visa waiver agreement. Dual registration will not solve the cabotage problem for orchestras. The answer has to be a cabotage exemption from the TCA. I ask the Minister: what progress has been made on Eurostar becoming a CITES-designated port and will the Government explore a cultural exemption for ATA carnets in relation to the non-portable instruments and equipment? In the other direction, because of hold-ups and increasing red tape, there are now real concerns about whether visa-national acts, booked for festivals in the UK this summer, will be able to meet their engagements. This is something the DDCMS should perhaps keep an eye on.

The higher education Bill, the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill and the Schools Bill ought to overtly recognise the importance of the creative industries. The idea that there should be

“a school system that works for every child, regardless of where they live”

is excellent, but it will work only if there is a properly balanced education that seeks fulfilment for every child, and that must include the arts. School should be a place where children want to be, and they will want to be there if there is something that interests them. Boredom is an acknowledged major cause of absenteeism in both primary and secondary schools. The creativity crisis—as it has now been dubbed—in schools should be the first thing that the Government address. It is a crisis that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, as shown by this year’s University of Nottingham Art Now survey for the teaching of art and design. This means, in the long term, the scrapping of the EBacc and proper funding for the arts in schools. A good place to start would be to reintroduce the arts premium that the Government promised previously. Taking music as an example, research by the Incorporated Society of Musicians found that departmental mean budgets for independent schools are about five times greater than those of either maintained schools or academies. This is unacceptable and it does not need a Bill to move schools away from the narrower, more academic road they are going down—an approach that does not suit all children.

There are also concerns about the arts in higher education and what it will mean in practice when the Government talk of

“improving the quality of higher education”.

The cuts to funding arts courses and the fixation on maths and English as being key to higher education will doubtless make an impact on those who wish to pursue careers in the arts, including drama.

Levelling up should not just be about local business or the nature of the planning system. I go back again to funding. The Institute for Government found that there has been a 37% real cut in central government grants to local authorities between 2010 and 2020. The pandemic has stretched councils even further in the last couple of years. These cuts need to be reversed so that our local theatres, libraries, museums, public spaces and other community assets can thrive again, and local people can be proud of their environment. At the local and regional levels, that is what levelling up is about.