Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support the arts and humanities in the higher education sector.

The government is committed to supporting creative subjects, such as the arts and humanities, in higher education (HE).

​For the 2024/25 academic year, the department has allocated around £12.9 million in high-cost subject funding from the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) towards creative and performing arts courses to cover course costs. This increases the per student funding rate to £130.54, which is an increase of 3.8%.

​The department has also maintained SPG funding for world-leading small and specialist providers at £58 million for the 2024/25 academic year. Of the 20 providers recognised in this way, 12 are creative and performing arts providers.

The department knows that the HE sector needs a secure financial footing to face the challenges of the next decade, and to ensure that all students can be confident they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve. That is why, after seven years of frozen fee caps under the previous government, we have taken the difficult decision to increase maximum tuition fee limits for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation. ​

​The department will continue to work with the Office for Students to ensure that costs of provision are assessed.