So, we now move to the short debate and I call on Rhianon Passmore to speak on the topic she has chosen—Rhianon.

Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. I'll be giving a minute of my allocated time to my colleague the Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee, Bethan Sayed.

Members of this Assembly will know that this is a profoundly important issue for me, but it is also a matter of significant importance to Wales. My passion as a child was music and my profession as an adult was teaching and performing music, and I'm determined as the Assembly Member for Islwyn, at the heart of the Welsh Valleys, to do all I can to ensure that Wales's musical future leaves no child behind. Wherever in Wales a child is born, they should be able to have access to music education and funding; it should be available to ensure that this transpires.

I would like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for Education for her continual willingness to listen to my urging of the Welsh Government to find ways to do more, to go further and to challenge the assumptions that, in an age of politically motivated austerity, there is little we can do in Wales to arrest the decline of support for music education, and in particular the decline in music support services across Wales. Despite the cuts to Wales since 2010, the Welsh Government have announced already in this fifth Assembly additional funding, including the endowment fund for music and the Cabinet Secretary's musical amnesty. The national endowment fund for music, with £1 million of seed funding given to the Arts Council of Wales, is aimed specifically at extracurricular activities, and this fund is aimed at encouraging further donations, with an aim to raise a further £1 million per year in the future. These are very welcome initiatives and useful spokes in the wheel, but we need, as I have stated previously, to be both more radical and more ambitious. 

Suzy Davies took the Chair.

The Economist in March published an article entitled, 'The quiet decline of arts in British schools'. They used a Welsh case study of a local authority impacted by funding cuts. It was reported how the music service budget had recently been reduced by an eye-watering 72 per cent. The then head of the council's music service put it succinctly—'Many will give up'. And, of course, he's referring to instrumental tuition and the instruments that they provide. 

If Wales is to retain its worldwide reputation as the land of song, then we need the Welsh Government to develop a national music strategy, a plan, and, in particular, a national education performance music strategy for Wales, outlining the steps and requirements, and a consistent and core offer for the pupils of Wales. The principles of universality of provision across Wales are key if we want to ensure opportunities for all are guaranteed. 

Indeed, Wales's foremost orchestral conductor, Owain Arwel Hughes, has attributed a crisis in Welsh music to cuts in music services. These cannot be divorced from the ongoing squeezing of the Welsh budget, and the pressures, therefore, on Welsh local government and non-statutory services, despite Welsh Government protections. Nobody is more passionate in Wales, the land of song, than Owain Arwel Hughes, but we need to listen and we need to listen hard.   

I recently attended the launch of the Welsh Proms. This year, to the obvious dismay of many, Welsh Government financial support was withdrawn. The rationale was that the money had come from the Welsh Government's economic development funding, and could no longer be justified. I believe we have to be careful that we do not fall into the trap of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

As a member of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee, I know how passionate also our Chair, Bethan, is about this issue. Her passion is shared by the Welsh public. Our committee's inquiry into funding for and access to music education is due to report soon. This was an inquiry inspired by the Welsh people. When asked in 2016 by the committee what the priorities of the committee should be, the public consultation found the most popular was funding for and access to music education. And the Welsh public are ahead of us as politicians. They know the value of music education to the life of our nation, our future artists and culture. They are rightly concerned that Wales faces the danger of a postcode lottery of provision without a national vision and a national approach to a national music education performance strategy. 

Earlier this year, I commissioned Professor Paul Carr from the faculty of creative industries at the University of South Wales to complete a report to look at international best practice in music performance education models, and associated learning outcomes for Wales. Professor Carr chose 12 stakeholders who were chosen either for their detailed knowledge of the Welsh context, their evidence and expertise and evidenced knowledge of UK and international offers. These stakeholders included the chair of National Youth Arts Wales, the artistic director of BBC Cymru Wales, professors of music education in University College London, managing directors of the European Music School Union and, of course, Welsh arts council. 

This report will be launched later this month at a celebration of Welsh music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, an important scoping piece with a further outcome report to come. And, as a little plug, I hope that many Assembly Members will be able to attend alongside key stakeholders and international artists. But he gave us a stark warning, and I quote:

'If something is not done to turn this current publicised decline around, one of Wales's most famous maxims, the land of song, will unquestionably be under threat in the years to come, because it will simply not be true'.

In Wales, we cannot accept the consequences of austerity imposed from London since 2010 destroying the musical fabric of our nation. Wales needs capital investment similar to the music development fund, introduced by the Labour Government in 1999. This would provide a newly modelled music support service with necessary sustainable finances to make instrumental-based musical activities accessible for all, replacing reduced access to music, accusations of elitism, and the postcode lottery maxim with a clear statement for the nation. 

The then Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Michael, introduced the music development fund in 1999, with £8 million being distributed to local authorities' music services. And despite the context of cuts and the many competing priorities of Government, I say to this place that this debate today is about more than just music. It is about the very type of nation that we wish to be. It is about our place and identity in the world, our culture, our heritage, our creative industry and economic growth. And it is also very much about equality—equality of access, irrespective of wealth, to the well-being, self-esteem and progression pathways and careers in the wider world of music, and it's about equality in the classroom, so that the world of music is not shut to those who can play but not pay. Now, Cabinet Secretary, I believe is the time to commit our nation to a national music strategy, a plan to commit investment to underpin the strategy and support the music support services in Wales.

To conclude, Deputy Llywydd, let us speak truth to power: the alternative is a continuing fragmented access to music education and funding across Wales, with a great diminution of opportunities for the poorest in our society, unable to engage in and enlarge Wales's music landscape and that beyond. We will all be poorer for that, and our nation's proud claim of being a land of song will echo with diminishing strength, and that diminuendo will be on an unprecedented scale. And I believe that we in this place cannot let that happen. Diolch. 

Obviously, as Rhianon has outlined, we have a report being announced soon on music in education, so I would want to keep my powder dry on that, but I do know that it has been a productive piece of work and something that the public have been entirely engaged in because this is a really important topic. I don't need to tell AMs here my passion for this, being a viola player myself, my brother a cellist and my sister Niamh currently in the education system playing the cello in the Glamorgan valleys orchestra. I recognise as well what the Cabinet Secretary has done in relation to her role and her interventions, and I think that, while this has been a long time coming, we should give praise where it's due, and I hope that this is something that will emanate in future decisions from the Welsh Government.

I will say something negative now, though I don't want to. I've had communication from those in the music service over the last few days telling me that they're despairing of the situation across Wales. In fact, one of the messages I received was that he was fearful that this was a race to the bottom in relation to music services here in Wales. In Wrexham, for example, cuts are taking place as we speak, and they tell me that they're being forced into different models of delivery because of the fact that they are losing their jobs as we are having this debate here today. I'm also being told that some of the national ensembles are not actually taking place this year due to the lack of people auditioning. I really don't want to be negative because, as Rhianon said, we care passionately about the retention of music services, but if we don't support what is there now then we may not have them for the future. So, I think we need to be putting our heads together now and supporting this industry. I would like to see more investment again, and I would like to see a strategy that would ensure that it's at the core of what we do across Wales. I think that, in some areas, we have seen some local authorities doing amazing work, but others see it as an add-on and something that is not necessary for them to promote.

For me, I don't think I would be in politics if it wasn't for music teaching me life skills, getting involved in discipline, being able to work as a team, and I hope that that would reflect for younger people in Wales who now want to take up music and that it won't be for just the privileged or for those who can afford it but for everybody here in Wales, so that we can remain a nation of song and a country that can promote ourselves on an international footing, as a country of song and a country of culture.

That was a very long minute there—

Sorry.

—but it was a good subject. 

I call the Cabinet Secretary for Education to reply to the debate—Kirsty Williams. 

Thank you very much, acting Presiding Officer. I'd like to begin by thanking Rhianon for bringing forward this debate today. I'm sure that all Members would recognise her determination and her passion for the subject, and I'm sure we'd all agree that the same is true of Bethan also.

Acting Presiding Officer, one of the joys of being the Cabinet Secretary for Education is visiting schools the length and breadth of Wales, and whenever I do music is involved, whether that's a samba band in Llandeilo, an African drumming band in Hay-on-Wye just this week, steel bands in Cardiff, the violin group in Wrexham, and, I have to say, my particular favourites, the ukuleles in Pembrokeshire—and, of course, there is always a choir—I am always blown away by the musical talent that I see throughout our nation. I'm very happy to confirm that music forms an important element of the school curriculum. It's a statutory subject for all learners at both key stages 2 and 3, and the place of music is secure in the development of our new curriculum. 

As Members will be aware, there will be six areas of learning and experience, including one for the expressive arts, and I'm confident that this ensures an even more prominent position for the arts, including music, as we go forward. Music education contributes to the development of engaged and informed citizens by ensuring that all of our young people, from whatever their background, can develop their talents and skills through study and participation, whether individually or collectively.

Since taking up the role of Cabinet Secretary for Education, I have worked hard alongside Cabinet colleagues to ensure that we're supporting schools in delivering quality music education. We have taken forward the issues highlighted in the 2015 report by the music services task and finish group. This year, I am providing additional funding of £1 million, with a further £1 million in 2019-20, to enhance the delivery of music services, and this is on top of existing moneys provided to local authorities to deliver music services. I and my officials are working closely with the Welsh Local Government Association on this topic, and I am confident that we will be able to agree an approach to further enhancing support for music services.

I'm also committed to ensuring that young people who want to progress to individual music tuition have the chance to do so. Access to these opportunities not only develops learners musicality, but also contributes to the acquisition of wider skills and benefits, as outlined just a moment ago by Bethan, such as discipline, perseverance and general well-being. That is why I made £220,000 available last year for local authorities to purchase musical instruments so as to ensure that those most in need of access to an instrument had it.

We also instigated a national musical instruments amnesty. This resulted in over 80 good-quality instruments being donated and redistributed to young people and orchestras. Indeed, only this week, somebody arrived at my constituency office with a trumpet—a little beyond the amnesty, but we're very grateful to receive it. This followed the successful pilot at the Welsh Government and National Assembly that saw over 60 instruments being donated by Government and Assembly staff, as well as a number of Assembly Members here as well who donated instruments.

Musical ensembles, as we've also heard this afternoon, play an essential role in supporting our young people to access performance opportunities and providing a career pathway to becoming professional musicians. I believe that all young people, no matter what their background, who are talented enough to gain a place on one of the ensembles, should be able to participate. Therefore, I welcome the establishment of National Youth Arts Wales, who, in 2018-19, entered their first full year of managing and developing the six national youth ensembles. In addition, last year, I provided £280,000 to local authorities for their contribution to national performance ensembles.

I've also supported the establishment, as we have heard, of a music endowment for Wales to support additional musical activities for young people—an exciting and innovative initiative, which is the first of its kind in Wales. Launched in February as 'Anthem' and founded on close collaboration between the education and culture departments here at the Government and the Arts Council of Wales, the endowment is our long-term and sustainable approach to funding. It is aimed at increasing musical opportunities for young people across Wales into the future—not to replace existing music services, but to enhance them. We have allocated £1 million to help set up and provide moneys for the endowment, which we hope will be built up by charitable donations from a variety of approaches and public and private stakeholders. It is essential we give young people access to these experiences out of school, just as the new curriculum will give them greater opportunities within school. I believe that the endowment will be a genuinely innovative and groundbreaking initiative, and one that is made in Wales.

The creative learning through the arts plan, founded on our partnership with the arts council, and supported with funding of £20 million, is recognised internationally for its visionary approach to supporting creativity across the curriculum. The positive evaluation feedback on this programme shows clearly that it's supporting schools in utilising creativity and the arts, including music—

Will you take an intervention?

Of course. 

I appreciate what you say about the creative learning in schools programme, but what we heard from evidence in our committee was that it had no link whatsoever with the music services and that, in fact, they weren't able to bid for any part of that scheme. So, I was wondering, in future, would you be able to look at amending how that works so that it could be something that the music services could tap in to?

What's important to remember about how that scheme operates is that it's up to the individual school to work with the arts council to identify creative partners to deliver the project. So, it's for the school to identify the type of practitioners who they want to work with. I wouldn't want to take away from the autonomy of head teachers to be able to plan that provision and to work with a variety of professional artists, but I'm always willing to look to see what we can do to ensure that as wide a variety of professionals as possible can work within our schools. 

What's really important about that programme is that it is raising attainment and aspirations and it's helping us shape our new curriculum. Only last week—and I was really disappointed that commitments here prevented me from attending—at Tate Modern, 32 lead creative schools from Wales had the opportunity to take part in projects and showcase their work. Our focus on creativity in the curriculum was shared to a wide audience outside of Wales with over 1,000 visitors seeing that exhibition at the Tate, and I think that's fantastic.

In conclusion, I want to say that I'm looking forward to seeing the recommendations from the culture and Welsh language committee, which has been undertaking a review of music provision in Wales. But I hope that you can see from the overview that I have given this afternoon that I value and support music education through a range of approaches, and that I'm firmly focused on ensuring that we continue to build upon and enhance music provision for all of our young people—for its own sake and for the sake of our nation.

Thank you very much, and that brings today's proceedings to a close.

The meeting ended at 17:01.