A joint open letter has been sent to PM Boris Johnson from seven trade unions opposing proposed funding cuts to creative and performative arts subjects in the Higher Education Teaching Grant budget for 2021–2.
The cuts proposed by the Department for Education’s Office for Students body and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson suggest halving the grants going to “high cost” Higher Education arts subjects in England to prioritise funding to “subjects vital to the economy and labour markets”.
The letter, issued on behalf of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, Equity UK, University and College Union, Bectu, Musicians’ Union, Unison and Unite, claim that the proposal “threatens the health and accessibility of the entertainment and education sectors, jeopardises the livelihoods of HE and creative workers, and narrows training opportunities for future generations.”
WGGB General Secretary Ellie Peers said, “the Education Secretary says his plans will reallocate funding to subjects vital to the economy and labour market, yet this makes no sense at all, given that our creative industries generate over £111 billion per year.
“What these cuts will do, however, is jeopardise jobs and turn back much-needed progress on diversity and inclusion in the arts. They must be stopped.”
UCU General Secretary Jo Grady added, “these cuts would devastate arts and entertainment provision in higher education, risk widespread job losses and severely reduce access to students. As our letter makes clear, the institutions most vulnerable to these cuts are those with a higher number of under-privileged students. It is simply unconscionable to deny these young people the chance to study subjects like art, drama and music.
“If funding is cut, current and future students lose out, because courses that are shut cannot be brought back to life at the drop of a hat. If the Government continues down this track, we could be seeing one of the biggest attacks on arts and entertainment in English universities in living memory. The Government must cancel its proposed cuts and help protect an industry in which we are world leaders.”
Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming said, “if the Government is serious about a levelling-up agenda, they’ll stop these cuts in their tracks. The only way to get authentic, diverse, working class voices into the creative industries is by supporting quality HE provision as part of the training ecosystem. These cuts say that Gavin Williamson believes a reducing number of people can be a professional artist: that can’t be right.”
The full letter can be read on the WGGB web site.