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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on improving access to creative education for children and young people from lower income families.

Ensuring all children and young people can access high-quality creative education is a government priority. The Secretary of State and Ministers regularly engage with colleagues at the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the shared mission of breaking down barriers to opportunity.

The Government is committed to revitalising arts education through a reformed curriculum and support for teachers, including via the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, due to be established by September 2026, and through continued investment in Music Hubs. To increase access to enrichment opportunities across culture, sport, and wider youth sectors for disadvantaged young people, the Every Child Can programme, backed by £132.5 million in dormant assets through the National Lottery Community Fund, will fund activities within school and in communities at weekends and in the holidays, ensuring enrichment is a common entitlement for all. In strategic partnership with DfE, we will also invest £22.5 million across 3 years to support up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to provide a youth led, tailored enrichment offer, including culture.

In addition, to increase access to creative education, DCMS is providing at least £3.2 million in 2026/27 for the Museums and Schools Programme, Heritage Schools Programme, Art & Design National Saturday Club, and BFI Film Academy.