Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure children from less privileged backgrounds can access (a) music and (b) dance training in Surrey Heath constituency.

This Government is committed to revitalising arts education including through the reformed national curriculum.

Programmes available to children in Surrey Heath that Arts Council England (ACE) fund include:

• Surrey Music Hub, which helps young people to sing, learn instruments and develop their talents;

• Surrey Dance 21 an initiative, providing opportunities for young people to participate in dance training.

The government’s Music and Dance Scheme also continues to provide means-tested bursaries to enable young people to benefit from world-class training, regardless of their personal circumstances.