Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she considered a multi-year funding settlement for the Music and Dance Scheme after the spending review; and if she will consider setting out a multi-year funding settlement for the scheme in future years.

The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries. The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) this academic year. The MDS currently provides bursaries for over 2,000 students. The number of students supported in future will be considered in due course. Any introduction of multi-year funding agreements will also be considered in due course.