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Reconsider Proposed Catastrophic 50% Funding Cut MPs Tell Secretary of State

Shadow secretaries of state Jo Stevens MP and Kate Green MP have written to Gavin Williamson calling on the Secretary of State for Education to drop proposals for a catastrophic 50% funding cut to arts subjects at the Higher Education level in England.

Published: 06 May 2021 | 11:28 AM Updated: 02 August 2023 | 12:26 PM
Photograph focusing on a singer, singing emotively into a microphone. Blurred in the foreground is a second musician mixing into a laptop.
“The Government risks undermining our world leading sectors including the music industry, performing arts and journalism.” Photo credit: Stocksy

The letter, written by Jo Stevens MP and Kate Green MP, states that, “It is a false economy for the Government to cut funding for students to develop skills in areas where the country already has an acknowledged skills shortage.”

“The Government risks undermining our world leading sectors including the music industry, performing arts and journalism,” they write.

Stevens and Green also ask if an equality impact assessment has been carried out on the proposed 50% funding cut, as subjects affected “have a high proportion of students reporting to have a disability, in particular mental health conditions or learning disabilities.”

The letter ends by urging the Secretary of State for Education to re-consider his “short-sighted proposal” and looking forward to his urgent response.

Read the full letter in Jo Stevens and Kate Green’s tweets below.

Take action now

The consultation closed on Thursday 6 May, but MU members continued to take action by emailing their MPs, writing to the Secretary of State, and raising complaints with the Office for Students about the lack of full and fair consultation.

Explore the Government’s proposed 50% funding cut to music at Higher Education level.

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