Creative Industries: Qualifications

Lord Vaizey of Didcot Excerpts

Thursday 23rd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, so early in this debate, and I thank her for securing this subject for us to discuss. I echo much of what she said, which I will return to in a moment.

I congratulate the Minister on surviving the reshuffle cull. I have seen on social media how pleased she is to have held on to her role and how much she enjoys it. In principle, it is great to see her on the Front Bench because the future success of our creative industries, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, depends very much on close co-operation with the Department for Education. It is an interesting point that the music education system that the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, spoke of so eloquently is effectively funded out of the Department for Education via the Arts Council. Many of the high-level schemes that support elite arts education—I am not embarrassed to use the word “elite”—such as the music and dance scheme, are also funded by the department of the noble Baroness, Lady Smith. It is vital to see this co-operation.

Although the noble Lord, Lord Gove, is often criticised for the EBacc, it was thanks to him, when he was Education Secretary, that we were able to bring some form of strategy to music education, with the creation of music education hubs, a more uniform funding system for local authorities and a joining up of separate initiatives, such as the In Harmony scheme, to ensure their success.

I will dwell briefly on the In Harmony scheme, which represents a massive career-enhancing opportunity for the noble Baroness on the Front Bench. Although inspired by Julian Lloyd Webber, it was implemented by a Labour Culture Secretary known as Andy Burnham. I visited one of the In Harmony schemes when I was a Minister. It was in west Everton, not unadjacent to a football club supported by a man called Andy Burnham. I will always remember that visit. It was a very emotional one, because the sheer power of music to inspire children from difficult backgrounds, their parents and their carers was a wonder to behold. I hope that, in the next three months, I will see the Minister and the Prime Minister visiting the In Harmony scheme in west Everton, to emphasise the importance of music education, as the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, pointed out, in not just creating the musicians of the future but inspiring many young people with the rigour, discipline and sense of responsibility that will enhance their prospects in many different ways.

It is good to have a former Culture Secretary as our Prime Minister. The more I debate issues in this place, the more I think not about picking winners but that this is a fantastic country that should be focusing on our natural advantages. We need a Government who will focus and double down on them. It goes without saying that the creative industries are one of those advantages—film, television, video games, fashion and indeed music. The noble Baroness mentioned the BRIT School. It is a phenomenal institution, set up by the record industry, which has itself, perhaps inadvertently, been picking winners, from Adele to Olivia Dean, throughout its existence. It obviously needs continued support from government, but it is important that we understand just how important the creative industries are, not just for our national life but, frankly, for our economy.

In looking at the future of T-levels and V-levels for the creative industries, I wonder whether I am wrong in thinking that perhaps they have been put at the back of the queue. The first V-levels coming in 2027 are, as I understand it, digital, accounting and child development —very important issues—but creative T-levels are due to arrive only in 2029 and creative V-levels a year later in 2030. They are the last carriages on the train. I would be interested to hear from the Minister how the department decided to sequence the introduction of these new qualifications. If it is because they are harder to design, that would be understandable.

I hold some reservations on the evidence so far, and I think the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, referred to this in her remarks. A V-level carries 360 guided learning hours, but the BRIT School has said that something like 1,000 guided learning hours are needed—360 hours is the equivalent of a single A-level. The qualifications being replaced, including the larger BTECs, offer a great deal more. In the Government’s own consultation response, industry and universities both said that 360 hours was not enough to give them confidence.

V-level content is tied to occupational standards set by Skills England. That might be a perfectly sensible discipline for accountancy, where an accountant is a recognisable thing, but UK Music put the difficulty well: creative careers are portfolio careers, and forcing qualifications to align with occupational standards that do not exist risks making them irrelevant to how the industry actually works. In 20 years around this sector, I have met very few people in the sector doing one job. The Government have promised to consult on content before these courses launch, and I would like the Minister’s assurance that this means the sector will be helping to co-design them, not merely commenting on a fait accompli.