Music: Education

(asked on 23rd June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that music teachers who work in state-funded schools and colleges but are paid through (a) parents' fees and (b) other private income are being furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and if the Government will reconfirm to education providers that atypical workers who meet those conditions are eligible for such furlough payments.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 1st July 2020

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

State funded schools will continue to receive their budgets for the coming year, as usual, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure. That will ensure that they are able to continue to pay their staff, and meet their other regular financial commitments, as we move through these extraordinary times.

We do not, in general, expect schools to furlough staff. However, we understand that, in some instances, schools may have a separate private income such as music teachers paid through parent fees. Where this income has either stopped or been reduced and there are staff that are typically paid from those private income streams, it may be appropriate to furlough staff.

Schools should first seek to make the necessary savings from their existing budget or consider options to redeploy these staff before furloughing them. Only after all other potential options have been fully considered should schools furlough those members of staff and seek support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Further information on school’s accessing support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can be found in the publication:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care#state-funded-schools.

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