Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design

Lord Mawhinney Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I reassure the noble Baroness that, in fact, since the introduction of the EBacc, the proportion of pupils in state-funded schools taking at least one GCSE in an arts subject has increased. In 2005, entries for GCSE art and design were 2% higher than the year before, and for music the figure was 3% higher. We absolutely believe that the arts and culture are part of a well-balanced broad curriculum, which we support.

[Lord Mawhinney (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend accept that the Government’s commitment to art and design is admirable, as is their commitment to the autonomy of universities?

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

That is a difficult one.