§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his estimate is of the number of dancing schools in(a) London and (b) England and Wales; if he will break them down by styles of dance predominantly taught; what funding is available for ethnic minority schools of dancing; and what the level of public expenditure was on each variety of dance in each of the past five years. [151627]
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§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Council for Dance Education and Training (CDET), an independent body representing dance training providers, accredits courses at vocational dance training schools. CDET's membership includes 24 vocational dance schools in England: 13 in London, five more in the south-east, and six in the midlands or north-west. Ten of these focus on musical theatre (dance), six on ballet, four on contemporary dance, three on both musical theatre and ballet, and one on these three styles. In addition, the CDET is aware of at least 10 other schools in England which say they offer vocational training. Information on Welsh schools is a matter for the devolved Administration.
Funding for dance is provided through a range of public and private sources, at central Government and local levels. DCMS support for dance is undertaken by the Arts Council of England and the regional arts boards. The information is not readily available in the form requested, but the Arts Council has provided the following breakdown of grant in aid for specific dance causes, and headline figures for Arts Lottery expenditure on dance, as follows:
Grant in aid £ Year Total Ballet Contemporary African/Asian 1997–98 23,548,016 17,425,531 2,354,803 941,920 1998–99 23,165,756 17,142,659 2,316,576 1,158,289 1999–2000 27,264,356 19,902,979 2,726,435 1,363,217 2000–01 25,895,815 18,903,944 2,589,581 1,297,790 Arts Council Lottery dance expenditure/awards total £133,074,167. It includes:
- New Audiences Programme: £698,000;
- Regional Arts Lottery Programme: £4,850,109;
- Interim Funding Scheme £19,114,413 (includes awards to drama colleges, and a 50 per cent. grant from the DfEE).
Sport England provides some support for ballroom and Latin dancing, and some physical movement related dance forms. Grant in aid provision totalled over £300,000 in the last five years, with Lottery awards of at least £420,000, although the overall figure is likely to be higher where dance has featured as part of broader Lottery applications.