Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what requirements there are for airports to ensure adrenaline auto-injectors are available on their premises.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following their review, the Adrenaline Auto-injector Expert Working Group (AAI EWG) recommended in principle that adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) should be made available in public locations, for use in treating anaphylaxis in unforeseen and critical circumstances, provided suitable safeguards can be implemented to ensure their effective and safe use. Challenges lie in ensuring correct and secure storage of AAIs, to ensure that the adrenaline does not deteriorate, and the device remains functional. Cinemas offering food for sale and other food outlets were identified as examples of locations where emergency AAIs might have particular potential to save lives.
The legislative change will therefore concern AAI supply, to specify or define individuals or organisations with the necessary competence to obtain and store AAIs for use in the event of an anaphylactic emergency. The AAI EWG advised the need for access to AAIs in a broad range of settings such as restaurants, gyms, cinemas, childcare facilities, youth groups, and music festivals. To support such wide-ranging access, the scope of legal supply will need to be linked to a requirement for training, to support safe use.
An Expert Advisory Group for Allergy was established in 2023, across the Government and clinical organisations, and chaired by the National Allergy Strategy Group and the Department, to recommend further action by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education, and the National Health Service. The Department of Health and Social Care and the MHRA are currently considering updates to the 2017 guidance, to ensure that any updated clarifications are supported by evidence, and that any open questions are answered.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure every (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in England can visit the theatre at least once in their school career.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.
Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.
Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.
A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.
Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that pupils from low income families are able to participate in school visits to theatres.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.
Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.
Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.
A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.
Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review her Department's decision to end funding for employer contributions to the teachers' pension scheme for music teachers employed by non-local authority music hubs.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the competition of the Music Hubs programme, Arts Council England informed potential bidders on 15 June 2023 that department funding would be made up of the revenue and capital grants only, and that there would not be additional funding to contribute to the cost of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) for Music Hub lead organisations that are not local authorities from September 2024. The Arts Council also published indicative allocations for the 43 new Music Hub areas.
In light of the increase in employer contributions to TPS from April 2024, the department will take steps to determine the level of employer liability across all the newly appointed Hub Lead Organisations from September 2024. This has not been possible until recently, as applicants were informed of the outcome of the Music Hubs Investment Programme on 8 April 2024. The department will then work with Arts Council England to set final Music Hub grant allocations for the 2024/25 academic year and, as part of this work, due consideration will be given to additional pension pressures due to the increase in employer contribution to the TPS.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will publish the attendance of each meeting of the AI and Copyright Code of Practice Working Group in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The working group on copyright and AI met under terms of reference available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-governments-code-of-practice-on-copyright-and-ai. This information for 2023 has previously been disclosed pursuant to a Freedom of Information request, and is set out in the following table:
Date of meeting | Attendees, by organisation |
05/06/2023 (AI firms and research sector only) | The Entrepreneurs Network; IP Federation; Stability AI; Knowledge Rights 21; Google DeepMind; Tech UK; British Library; UK Research and Innovation (UKRI); Microsoft; Synthesia IPO; Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) |
06/06/2023 (right holders only) | RELX; Professional Publishers Association; British Association of Picture Library Agencies (BAPLA); News Media Association; Alliance for IP; UK Music; NLA Media Access; Association of Photographers; Financial Times; Copyright Licensing Agency; British Phonographic Industry (BPI); Equity; Publishers Association; Creators’ Rights Alliance; Music Publishers Association; British Screen Forum; Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS); Copyright Clearance Center; British Copyright Council; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); Premier League IPO; DCMS; CMA |
13/06/2023 | RELX; Professional Publishers Association; The Entrepreneurs Network; IP Federation; Stability AI; Knowledge Rights 21; News Media Association; Alliance for IP; Council of Music Makers; UK Music; NLA Media Access; Association of Photographers; Copyright Licensing Agency; Financial Times; BAPLA; Google DeepMind; Tech UK; Equity; vAIsual; British Library; Creators’ Rights Alliance; Music Publishers Association; UKRI; British Screen Forum; DACS; Copyright Clearance Center; British Copyright Council; Microsoft; BPI; Innovate UK; BBC IPO; DCMS; Office for AI (OAI); CMA |
30/06/2023 | Professional Publishers Association; BAPLA; Knowledge Rights 21; Publishers Association; News Media Association; Alliance for IP; The Entrepreneurs Network; UK Music; NLA Media Access; Association of Photographers; Copyright Licensing Agency; Financial Times; Startup Coalition; Equity; vAIsual; British Library; Creators’ Rights Alliance; Music Publishers Association; UKRI; British Screen Forum; DACS; Copyright Clearance Center; British Copyright Council; Microsoft; BPI; Tech UK; Innovate UK; BBC; RELX; Council of Music Makers IPO; DCMS; OAI |
13/09/2023 (right holders only) | Professional Publishers Association; British Film Institute (BFI); Association of Photographers; Copyright Licensing Agency; Condé Nast; Guardian Media Group; Publishers Association; BPI; Equity IPO |
22/09/2023 | Association of Photographers; Getty Images; BBC; vAIsual; Microsoft; Music Publishers Association; Startup Coalition; British Copyright Council; Stability AI IPO |
26/09/2023 | RELX; Copyright Clearance Center; Copyright Licensing Agency; Alliance for IP; vAIsual; The Entrepreneurs Network; British Copyright Council; IP Federation; Synthesia; Publishers Association; WB Discovery; Council of Music Makers; Financial Times; Guardian Media Group; Startup Coalition |
29/09/2023 | Alliance for IP; British Copyright Council; Creators’ Rights Alliance; Equity; Stability AI; DACS; Microsoft; Innovate UK; BFI; British Screen Forum; Reading University; UK Music; Professional Publishers Association IPO |
04/10/2023 | Creators’ Rights Alliance; Equity; UK Music; Professional Publishers Association; Tech UK; News Media Association; Association of Photographers; Getty Images; The Entrepreneurs Network; BPI IPO |
05/10/2023 (AI firms only) | The Entrepreneurs Network; Startup Coalition; Microsoft; Stability AI; vAIsual IPO |
06/10/2023 | British Library; UKRI; BFI; Tech UK; Alliance for IP; Professional Publishers Association; RELX; Copyright Clearance Center; Turing Institute; Knowledge Rights 21 IPO |
12/10/2023 | Professional Publishers Association; BAPLA; The Entrepreneurs Network; Knowledge Rights 21; Publishers Association; News Media Association; Alliance for IP; Council of Music Makers; UK Music; NLA Media Access; Association of Photographers; Copyright Licensing Agency; Financial Times; BPI; Startup Coalition; Equity; vAIsual; Guardian Media Group; Creators’ Rights Alliance; Music Publishers Association; UKRI; British Screen Forum; BFI; Copyright Clearance Center; British Copyright Council; IP Federation; Microsoft; Innovate UK; BBC IPO; DCMS; OAI; Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; CMA |
The group did not meet in 2024.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to create 43 Hub Lead Organisations by Arts Council England on the future of (a) Music Education Hubs and (b) the wider music provision at schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Music Hubs are partnerships co-ordinated by a Hub Lead Organisation (HLO) and made up of schools and academy trusts, local authorities, music and wider arts and education organisations and charities, community or youth organisations and more. Having 43 HLOs working across a wider set of music education partnerships from September 2024 should bring significant benefits to children, young people and schools, as HLOs will be able to be more strategic, building stronger partnerships with those they work with, resulting in high-quality support in every local area and to ensure there are no local ‘cold spots’ where access to provision is limited.
This should also support a more consistent high-quality approach to music education for all children regardless of where they live or go to school, by offering:
Schools alone cannot provide the range of services needed for a good quality music education and Music Hubs provide many services that contribute to schools delivering high-quality music provision. Furthermore, Music Hubs will play a critical role in supporting schools who opt to implement the Model Music Curriculum published in 2021 and for schools implementing their Music Development Plans from September 2024. In time, Music Hubs will also support schools opting to use music curriculum resources from Oak National Academy, who will publish their full suite of key stage 3 and 4 resources in the summer and who recently announced a partner to produce a suite of key stages 1 and 2 resources.
The government has a long-standing commitment to high-quality music education and this is reflected in the government’s National Plan for Music Education published in June 2022. This sets out the vision to enable all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally by 2030. The department believes that Music Hubs play a vital role in ensuring children and young people across the country can access high-quality music education and this government values the many achievements that the existing Music Hub network has made since 2012.
The department has invested around £380 million of funding into Music Hubs between 2016 and 2021. As part of the National Plan for Music Education 2022, the department also announced £79 million of funding per year for the Music Hub programme, up to and including the 2024/25 academic year, to provide assurance and stability in music education. The department is also providing £25 million capital funding for musical instruments as part of the programme. The department will consider future funding for the next spending review in due course.
On average, the grant funding has consistently provided around 40% of a hub’s total income and hubs have historically used this to leverage other income streams over the lifespan of the programme. This co-funding approach will continue when the new programme is in place from September 2024. As set out in the investment programme, the department also expects organisations to have evidenced, as part of their applications to become one of the new HLOs, how at least 50% of a hub’s total income will come from other sources other than the revenue grant provided by the department by the end of the funding period.
There is no expectation on Music Hubs to provide free music tuition to all children. As part of the Music Hubs Investment Programme, bidders were required to submit plans detailing their strategic approach to ensure music education is inclusive of all children and young people with a range of needs, including how the Music Hub would ensure inclusion and widening opportunity will be embedded across all activity, plans and policies. This includes specific support and resources, including access to musical instruments, that will be made available for children and young people who are eligible for pupil premium, including looked-after children and/or those who are care experienced and those who have an identified special educational need or disability.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools to offer high quality music provision for all children (a) in the curriculum and (b) through (i) local authority-run and (ii) independent Music Education Hubs.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Music Hubs are partnerships co-ordinated by a Hub Lead Organisation (HLO) and made up of schools and academy trusts, local authorities, music and wider arts and education organisations and charities, community or youth organisations and more. Having 43 HLOs working across a wider set of music education partnerships from September 2024 should bring significant benefits to children, young people and schools, as HLOs will be able to be more strategic, building stronger partnerships with those they work with, resulting in high-quality support in every local area and to ensure there are no local ‘cold spots’ where access to provision is limited.
This should also support a more consistent high-quality approach to music education for all children regardless of where they live or go to school, by offering:
Schools alone cannot provide the range of services needed for a good quality music education and Music Hubs provide many services that contribute to schools delivering high-quality music provision. Furthermore, Music Hubs will play a critical role in supporting schools who opt to implement the Model Music Curriculum published in 2021 and for schools implementing their Music Development Plans from September 2024. In time, Music Hubs will also support schools opting to use music curriculum resources from Oak National Academy, who will publish their full suite of key stage 3 and 4 resources in the summer and who recently announced a partner to produce a suite of key stages 1 and 2 resources.
The government has a long-standing commitment to high-quality music education and this is reflected in the government’s National Plan for Music Education published in June 2022. This sets out the vision to enable all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally by 2030. The department believes that Music Hubs play a vital role in ensuring children and young people across the country can access high-quality music education and this government values the many achievements that the existing Music Hub network has made since 2012.
The department has invested around £380 million of funding into Music Hubs between 2016 and 2021. As part of the National Plan for Music Education 2022, the department also announced £79 million of funding per year for the Music Hub programme, up to and including the 2024/25 academic year, to provide assurance and stability in music education. The department is also providing £25 million capital funding for musical instruments as part of the programme. The department will consider future funding for the next spending review in due course.
On average, the grant funding has consistently provided around 40% of a hub’s total income and hubs have historically used this to leverage other income streams over the lifespan of the programme. This co-funding approach will continue when the new programme is in place from September 2024. As set out in the investment programme, the department also expects organisations to have evidenced, as part of their applications to become one of the new HLOs, how at least 50% of a hub’s total income will come from other sources other than the revenue grant provided by the department by the end of the funding period.
There is no expectation on Music Hubs to provide free music tuition to all children. As part of the Music Hubs Investment Programme, bidders were required to submit plans detailing their strategic approach to ensure music education is inclusive of all children and young people with a range of needs, including how the Music Hub would ensure inclusion and widening opportunity will be embedded across all activity, plans and policies. This includes specific support and resources, including access to musical instruments, that will be made available for children and young people who are eligible for pupil premium, including looked-after children and/or those who are care experienced and those who have an identified special educational need or disability.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Government’s Music Hub Investment Programme will support independent Music Education Hubs to provide free music education to all children.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Music Hubs are partnerships co-ordinated by a Hub Lead Organisation (HLO) and made up of schools and academy trusts, local authorities, music and wider arts and education organisations and charities, community or youth organisations and more. Having 43 HLOs working across a wider set of music education partnerships from September 2024 should bring significant benefits to children, young people and schools, as HLOs will be able to be more strategic, building stronger partnerships with those they work with, resulting in high-quality support in every local area and to ensure there are no local ‘cold spots’ where access to provision is limited.
This should also support a more consistent high-quality approach to music education for all children regardless of where they live or go to school, by offering:
Schools alone cannot provide the range of services needed for a good quality music education and Music Hubs provide many services that contribute to schools delivering high-quality music provision. Furthermore, Music Hubs will play a critical role in supporting schools who opt to implement the Model Music Curriculum published in 2021 and for schools implementing their Music Development Plans from September 2024. In time, Music Hubs will also support schools opting to use music curriculum resources from Oak National Academy, who will publish their full suite of key stage 3 and 4 resources in the summer and who recently announced a partner to produce a suite of key stages 1 and 2 resources.
The government has a long-standing commitment to high-quality music education and this is reflected in the government’s National Plan for Music Education published in June 2022. This sets out the vision to enable all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally by 2030. The department believes that Music Hubs play a vital role in ensuring children and young people across the country can access high-quality music education and this government values the many achievements that the existing Music Hub network has made since 2012.
The department has invested around £380 million of funding into Music Hubs between 2016 and 2021. As part of the National Plan for Music Education 2022, the department also announced £79 million of funding per year for the Music Hub programme, up to and including the 2024/25 academic year, to provide assurance and stability in music education. The department is also providing £25 million capital funding for musical instruments as part of the programme. The department will consider future funding for the next spending review in due course.
On average, the grant funding has consistently provided around 40% of a hub’s total income and hubs have historically used this to leverage other income streams over the lifespan of the programme. This co-funding approach will continue when the new programme is in place from September 2024. As set out in the investment programme, the department also expects organisations to have evidenced, as part of their applications to become one of the new HLOs, how at least 50% of a hub’s total income will come from other sources other than the revenue grant provided by the department by the end of the funding period.
There is no expectation on Music Hubs to provide free music tuition to all children. As part of the Music Hubs Investment Programme, bidders were required to submit plans detailing their strategic approach to ensure music education is inclusive of all children and young people with a range of needs, including how the Music Hub would ensure inclusion and widening opportunity will be embedded across all activity, plans and policies. This includes specific support and resources, including access to musical instruments, that will be made available for children and young people who are eligible for pupil premium, including looked-after children and/or those who are care experienced and those who have an identified special educational need or disability.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason additional funding to cover increases in employers’ pension contributions will not be provided to existing non-local authority Music Education Hubs beyond the current academic year.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the ongoing Music Hubs investment programme, Arts Council England informed potential bidders on 15 June 2023 that Department for Education funding from September 2024 would be made up of the revenue and capital grants only, and that there would be no additional ring-fenced top-up funding to support teacher pensions from this point on. Indicative allocations for both revenue and capital were also published for the 2024/25 academic year as part of the investment programme information.
The department understands that this will be an adjustment for music education organisations that have received top-up funding in the past and that is why the department has given both incumbent and potential new Hub Lead Organisations (HLOs) over 12 months’ notice of this intention so that this can be carefully planned for well in advance.
Following the conclusion of the current Music Hubs competition, due to be announced next month, the department will work with Arts Council England to set final grant allocations for the newly competed HLOs that take over from September 2024. As part of this work, due consideration will be given to additional pension pressures due to the forthcoming increase in employer contribution to the Teacher Pension Scheme.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to independent music education hubs on the removal of additional top-up funding for pension contributions from September 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the ongoing Music Hubs investment programme, Arts Council England informed potential bidders on 15 June 2023 that Department for Education funding from September 2024 would be made up of the revenue and capital grants only, and that there would be no additional ring-fenced top-up funding to support teacher pensions from this point on. Indicative allocations for both revenue and capital were also published for the 2024/25 academic year as part of the investment programme information.
The department understands that this will be an adjustment for music education organisations that have received top-up funding in the past and that is why the department has given both incumbent and potential new Hub Lead Organisations (HLOs) over 12 months’ notice of this intention so that this can be carefully planned for well in advance.
Following the conclusion of the current Music Hubs competition, due to be announced next month, the department will work with Arts Council England to set final grant allocations for the newly competed HLOs that take over from September 2024. As part of this work, due consideration will be given to additional pension pressures due to the forthcoming increase in employer contribution to the Teacher Pension Scheme.