Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to announce the awarding of the contract for the operation of the National Centre for Arts and Music Education.

Every child should have access to a rich, high-quality arts education, which is why we are establishing a new National Centre for Arts Education.

Following a competitive procurement, the named preferred supplier is Etio. They are leading a consortium with the Chartered College of Teaching and Birmingham City University and we intend to award them the contract to establish and lead the centre. The department has also asked Arts Council England to support the centre.

The centre will provide national leadership in arts education, support teachers with high-quality training and help schools connect children and young people with more arts opportunities, supporting our ambition to revitalise arts education across the country.

It will also provide strategic national leadership in revitalising arts in schools, mobilising a coalition of national, regional, and local partners to generate and direct investment to support equitable access to high-quality arts in school, with a focus on under-served communities.