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

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, however there are three vital ways you can take action now:

• Email your MP
• Write to the Secretary of State
• Make a complaint to 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 on our campaign hub.

Halving funding for arts and creative subjects in HE is a false economy. Govt is fast-tracking visas while stifling capacity to develop UK talent through our universities.@KateGreenSU & I have written to @GavinWilliamson to urge them to halt this short-sighted cut 👇 pic.twitter.com/0jGXeSiRTp

— Jo Stevens (@JoStevensLabour) May 6, 2021

Halving funding for arts and creative subjects in HE is a false economy. Govt is fast-tracking visas while stifling capacity to develop UK talent through our universities.@JoStevensLabour & I have written to @GavinWilliamson to urge them to halt this short-sighted cut 👇 pic.twitter.com/7QTu4PlKYV

— Kate Green 💙 (@KateGreenSU) May 6, 2021