Education: Conservatoires

Lord Aberdare Excerpts

Wednesday 10th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Aberdare]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, for initiating this important debate, and I shall try to make sense of those of my notes that have not been crossed out during the course of the debate.

As we have heard, the UK’s conservatoires represent a priceless competitive advantage, not just cultural but economic, that is quite disproportionate to their relatively small scale and cost. We really must not risk losing this, especially through inadvertence. The Government should be commended for recognising the value of conservatoires and continuing to provide exceptional funding for them, as do the Welsh Government for the splendid Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Surely it should be possible to give the conservatoires rather more confidence in the continuing availability of this funding, at least for a period of two or three years ahead, instead of the current situation where funding may be reduced even within the current year.

Secondly, we have heard from the noble Lords, Lord Low and Lord Wills, about the danger signs that the UK could be seen as a less appealing destination for overseas students as a result of issues over student visas and the reduced freedom for students to work in the UK after completing their studies. Why can the Government not find a way to offer a special limited exception for bona fide graduates of UK conservatoires from the current constraints which effectively prevent them undertaking performance work after their formal studies and thereby benefiting fully from their conservatoire experience? As we have heard, training to become a performing artist can take at least six years, or more for opera singers. There are many bodies that provide support beyond the conservatoire stage. I have been involved with one of them, the National Opera Studio. These bodies, too, need their funding protected in order to reap the full return from the work of the conservatoires.

I am heartened by the Government’s commitment to continued support for conservatoires. There is clearly no direct threat to kill the goose that lays such golden eggs for the UK, but I trust the Government will also ensure that the goose does not little by little become so deprived of sustenance and of an environment in which it can thrive that it dies anyway.