Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will carry out a public consultation on the development of the new National Plan for Music Education.

The Department undertook a public consultation between 9 February 2020 and 15 March 2020, seeking views on music education to inform proposals for the refreshed National Plan for Music Education (NPME).

The Department received 5,191 responses from a range of individuals and organisations, including young people, parents and carers, teachers and music education hubs. Following a delay due to COVID-19, we have published our response to the call for evidence, the findings from which will inform the refreshed plan.

To further support the development of the plan, the Department has announced the appointment of an advisory panel made up of experts from across the music education sector, to build upon these findings.

The advisory panel includes teachers, representatives from the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, UK Music, as well as Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, whose independent Review of Music Education in England informed the original NPME.