“The fact that these proposals were even put on the table in the first place…reinforces the need for more dedicated funding.” Photo credit: Shutterstock
After heavy campaigning, including an open letter from the MU, Midlothian Council have rejected proposals to cut their music service.
If the cuts had gone ahead, they would have transformed instrumental tuition in Scotland into a primarily parent funded service, completely undermining the Scottish Government’s pledge to offer free tuition to all. They would also have affected our members’ jobs and caused serious long-term damage to the musical ecosystem in Scotland.
MU Scotland & Northern Ireland Regional Organiser Caroline Sewell welcomes the news and urges for action moving forward to better protect instrumental music services.
“We welcome the news that Midlothian Council have rejected proposals to cut the instrumental music service by 60%. The fact that these proposals were even put on the table in the first place serves as a stark reminder of the precarity of our instrumental music services across all local authorities and reinforces the need for more dedicated funding with clear criteria around how the funding is to be used.
“We need to see further measures put in place to protect instrumental music from continually coming under threat as ‘low hanging fruit’, for provision to remain free and for music to become a core subject in Scotland’s education system.”