"My Lords, I start by thanking my noble friend Lady Keeley for introducing this debate, and noble Lords around the House for congratulating me on maintaining my role. I am absolutely delighted about it, not least because what would I do on a Thursday afternoon if I did not have …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"That the draft Regulations and Order laid before the House on 18 May and 1 June be approved.
Relevant document: 3rd Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.Considered in Grand Committee on 14 and 15 July...." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"Oh dear. We are definitely investing £76 million annually in music hubs, which of course means that the 43 music hubs can continue their important work to help children, regardless of background, to access musical education, by providing instruments and resources. In addition, we are investing up to £13 million …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"The noble Lord is absolutely right. Schools provide children who cannot access it through private means the opportunity to benefit from music and instrumental education. Through the national enrichment framework that the Government recently published, we will make sure there are more opportunities in the school day for children to …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"This lady only got as far as grade 7, I am afraid—I am grade 6 in cello. The noble Lord makes an important point about the use of volunteers, but the key issue is whether we have the quality of teachers to give our children a strong music education. The …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"I am sorry if my noble friend thinks that I have not looked enthusiastic about this. I was emphasising the progress that this Government are making in ensuring that qualified music teachers are in our schools, including through considerable investment. I agree with my noble friend that we need expert …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"Every year, we review the recruitment trajectory for different subjects. Given the need to safeguard public money and ensure we are spending it efficiently, and given that we have had a 55% increase in recruitment to initial music teacher training and the lowest leaving rate—8.7%—for music teachers at any point, …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"Tax reliefs are of course the purview of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I am sure the Chancellor—whoever they might be—will be listening very carefully to my noble friend’s argument about how we can encourage as much participation in music as possible...." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"My Lords, alongside improved teacher retention, 369 music teacher trainees started training last year—a 55% increase compared to academic year 2023-24. Music teachers are a key part of our pledge for 6,500 additional teachers and we are making good progress, with over 70% of that target achieved. We recently announced …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech
"We look at the subjects to be covered by the bursary on the basis of need and difficulty in recruitment. Given the encouraging improvements in music teacher recruitment over recent years, we have decided not to continue the bursary this year. My noble friend also made an important point about …..." Baroness Smith of Malvern - View Speech