Michele Gregson, Secretary General of NSEAD, spoke to Schools Week about the failure of the government to keep its 2019 General Election pledge for a £90m financial boost for arts education.
The manifesto pledged to “fund enriching activities for all pupils” through the new arts fund. Last year’s spring budget confirmed plans to spend £90 million a year on the policy, an average of £25,000 per secondary school, from this September.
But the scheme did not launch, and no funding was allocated in last month’s spending review. The Department for Education said this week that its priorities “inevitably had to focus on education recovery over the next three years”.
Michele Gregson, general secretary of NSEAD said, “That the government reneged on this commitment is more evidence of their desperate failure to understand at any level, the value of arts and culture,."
In the Schools Week report, Michele continues by calling out the Treasury for opting to “prioritise cuts to beer and Prosecco over opportunities for young people”.
Freddie Whittaker, Chief Reporter and Political Editor, confirms: 'Chancellor Rishi Sunak scrapped a planned increase in alcohol duty at the spending review – costing the public purse £3 billion.'
Read the full story on Schools Week here.
*Copy adapted from Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week.