8. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the creation of a national online support platform to expand music learning for children and young people in Scotland. (S6O-03213)

The

Government has transformed instrumental music tuition in Scotland’s schools by funding councils to eradicate unfair music tuition charges. This financial year, we are providing £12 million to continue that commitment. The most recent instrumental music survey, which was published in December last year, shows that the number of pupils participating in instrumental music tuition is at a record high since the survey began 11 years ago.

Since 2007, we have invested more than £150 million in the youth music initiative, helping young people across Scotland to access music and develop their wider skills and learning. Schools across Scotland already have access to the national e-learning offer—NeLO—which is supported by £1.5 million of investment from the Scottish Government. It includes a range of online learning materials, recorded lessons and live lessons on music.

Music and the arts should be for everyone, and it is clear that we need to do far more to create opportunities for working-class children. In Wales, the National Music Service, working with Charanga, has developed a national bespoke online support platform, not to replace existing instrumental tuition but to help non-music-specialist teachers to expand music learning in schools. For a relatively small cost, we could make that transformative change here in Scotland, too. Would the Minister agree to meet me to discuss and explore that proposal?

I am happy to meet the member to listen to any contributions that he may have in this space. However, as Education Scotland has already advised, what is being proposed by Welsh Labour is very similar, as I understand it, to the offer that we currently have nationally through the online NeLO platform and the resources on Glow, which is available in all local authority areas in Scotland. I am more than happy to meet the member to discuss the matter.

It is, of course, worth putting on the record that it was the Scottish National Party Government that removed fees for instrumental music tuition to make it free to all pupils. I remind Neil Bibby that the reason why we had to do so was that some councils, including Labour-run councils, decided to introduce charges, which saw parents being billed up to £300 per year.