WAG fails young musicians

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Mark Hannaby The Politics Show Wales

One of Wales' most famous musicians, composer Karl Jenkins, has accused the Welsh Assembly Government of "abdicating its responsibility" to young music makers.

I think the government has, to a certain extent, abdicated its responsibility, because it is no good passing the buck to local authorities. It should come from a central source Karl Jenkins

Mr Jenkins is concerned that funding, to enable young people to learn to play instruments, has been cut and is no longer "ring fenced".

He says many children today are not benefiting from opportunities to make music which his generation enjoyed.

Karl Jenkins says: "It shouldn't be a lottery as to where one lives or what local authority one is in or what school a child goes to. It should be part of every child's right, I think."

Between 1999 and 2005, the Assembly Government's Music Development Fund provided £17m which financed a growth in musical activities by 60,000 young people. That has now ended.

Monies for music are no longer "ring fenced" - they come out of general council funds.

As a result, provision across Wales varies widely. In some areas children must pay for tuition, in others it is free.

Karl Jenkins says: "I think the government has, to a certain extent, abdicated its responsibility, because it is no good passing the buck to local authorities. It should come from a central source.

"Funding should be sufficient to enable all young children to have a decent musical education. But funding should be ring-fenced so it's protected."

Catrin Finch is also concerned about youth music in Wales

In 2006, former music advisor, Helena Braithwaite organised a letter to First Minister, Rhodri Morgan, signed by Karl Jenkins and over 30 other Welsh music stars, including Bryn Terfel, conductor Owain Arwel Hughes, harpist Catrin Finch and Super Furry Animals.

The musicians said they could not stand by "while youth music in Wales stagnates and declines".

In reply, they were told their concerns were a matter for local authorities, not Wales' Government.

Helena Braithwaite says: "They couldn't believe it. That's the truth of it. Annoyed. Disgusted. Hurt. "Because let's face it, these people do a tremendous amount for our country you know: tourism, you know, kudos throughout the world.

"And here they are saying, 'look, we support this, we really feel strongly about this', and they're disregarded in a way."

Helena Braithwaite added that there has been no change for the better in the two years since that letter, and since inspection body Estyn said music teaching faced an uncertain future.

She says: "In some counties there have been huge cuts to music. In other counties, not so bad. But everywhere, and this came out in Estyn, everywhere there have been cuts.

"The other thing is that there were extra music teachers employed. Now, of course, they've had to be sacked because there's no work for them. So altogether it's a very depressing situation."

Education Minister, Jane Hutt, declined the Politics Show's request for an interview on this subject.

An Assembly Government spokesperson said that from financial year 2005/06 funding had been transferred to the local government settlement and that this arrangement enables local authorities to decide on the level of support they should give to musical activities within their schools, based on their understanding of local needs and priorities.

The Politics Show for Wales, with Jon Sopel and Adrian Masters on Sundays at 1200 BST on BBC One.

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