§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of pupils in state maintained schools who were given lessons in playing a musical instrument without parental contribution to the cost in the last 12 months; and what percentage this represents of the total number of children receiving such tuition in maintained schools. [7485]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 15 October 2001]: The Department does not collect this information centrally. It is up to each LEA to devise its own policy on whether to charge for instrumental music tuition provided outside of the National Curriculum.
1291WWe are committed, however, to supporting instrumental music tuition. The Music Standards Fund was introduced to halt the decline in LEA music services. Between 1999 and 2004, £270 million has been made available to protect and expand local music services. We have also pledged that, over time, all primary school pupils who want to will be able to learn a musical instrument. This is an important part of our drive to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their background, have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities.