King’s Speech

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Friday 19th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to respond to the gracious Speech. I refer to my registered interest as a trustee of the Tate gallery. I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, to her place as a Minister; she is an occasional sparring partner of mine on “Good Morning Britain”. She is a really welcome addition to the House, and I am sure she will do a fantastic job as a Minister. It is a huge privilege to be in the Chamber to mark the retirement of the noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, who is part of the Lib Dem team that makes such a unique contribution to our Chamber, and to mark the service of my noble friend Lady Barran, who was such a distinguished education and arts Minister.

I crave the House’s indulgence, as today also marks the retirement of my father from this House 40 years ago. Unfortunately, on 19 July 1984 he died. He did not get a chance to make a retirement speech, but his last speech in this House was about the arts and the reform of the Arts Council. I am very pleased to say that he is with us here today because I have got a tattoo in his honour, so he will always be in this Chamber every time I speak. It is in a perfectly normal place, and I am willing to show any interested Peer in the Bishops’ Bar later what I have done to mark this important anniversary. I hope no one has a fit of the vapours at this extraordinary announcement; let us keep it between ourselves.

I want to use this opportunity to talk about the arts. I was not sure when the arts would get a run-out during the debates on the King’s Speech, but education seemed to be the obvious opportunity. It does upset me occasionally that the Conservatives get a very bad rap for their support for the arts. It is worth reminding noble Lords that the Conservatives brought in the National Lottery, which transformed the landscape for the arts, and most recently brought in tax credits for museums, exhibitions, orchestras and theatres, which have also provided huge support for the arts.

Nevertheless, arts policy is not particularly complex. There are very simple things that this Government and future Governments can do to secure the arts. First, it is worth remembering that we are very good at the arts. We do not spend enough time in this country recognising that. We are recognised for it all over the world, but not in the UK. It is very important that Ministers pay attention to the arts. I welcome the new Secretary of State, who seems to be leaning into her new role and responsibilities.

Secondly—this is obviously completely the wrong time to mention this—secure funding for the arts is also extremely important. The more I reflect on this, the more I realise it is a very straightforward matter of giving our national, and indeed our regional, museums and performing arts organisations secure funding from the centre going forward. It is simply a rounding error on a government budget, and it would make such a transformative difference.

My third point about the arts, and where it fits into this debate, is that the arts play a role in every sector of policy and society. They are not going to cure prison overcrowding, but they will make a difference to prisoner rehabilitation. Indeed, the new prisons Minister was a trustee with me at the Tate, and he recognises that. They make a huge difference to our soft power. They are not going to cure cancer, but the National Academy for Social Prescribing is a very welcome recognition that the arts can play a key role, particularly in mental health, an issue mentioned by the Minister.

It goes without saying that the arts play a crucial role in education. In the last Administration we were good in parts. I worked with Michael Gove to secure music funding for local authorities. It is administered by the Arts Council but comes out of the Department for Education’s budget. I urge Ministers to go and see schemes such as In Harmony, which makes such a huge difference to Children’s self-confidence by helping people transform their education experience, and to listen to the calls—which may sound frivolous—to bring in a national singing strategy for schools.

The arts also have to be accessible to everyone. That includes, obviously, engaging young people and children in the arts as early as possible in a variety of ways. The arts sit at the centre of and are an important element of our education policy. When we came to power in 2010, we abandoned the previous Government’s scheme, Creative Partnerships, which used the arts to enhance learning. On reflection, that was probably a mistake, but we did do good things in securing music education. I hope this Government will look very carefully—I heard what the noble Baroness, Lady Morris, said earlier—at how we can reintegrate arts and cultural education into our schools’ curriculum.