To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards their target to recruit 6,500 extra teachers by 2029.

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards their target to recruit 6,500 extra teachers by 2029.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to what extent are automated decision-making systems used in relation to civil service employment, including recruitment, performance management, discipline, or allocation of work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to what extent are automated decision-making systems used in relation to civil service employment, including recruitment, performance management, discipline, or allocation of work.

To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure sufficient childcare availability following the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer to parents on Universal Credit; and what assessment they have made of where they will recruit additional early years staff from to support this change.

To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure sufficient childcare availability following the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer to parents on Universal Credit; and what assessment they have made of where they will recruit additional early years staff from to support this change.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department is taking to support the recruitment of more Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists, pursuant to her reforms in SEND provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department is taking to support the recruitment of more Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists, pursuant to her reforms in SEND provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 11755, what circumstances have previously been regarded as constituting a justifiable business requirement for making reference to a candidate's protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 in employer input on suitability for...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 11755, what circumstances have previously been regarded as constituting a justifiable business requirement for making reference to a candidate's protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 in employer input on suitability for...

Appointments to the Board of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority are made by His Majesty following an humble Address, from the House of Commons.

Appointments to the Board of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority are made by His Majesty following an humble Address, from the House of Commons.

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum hourly amount workers must be paid. Currently it differs between different 'age bands', although the Labour government has committed to removing them.

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum hourly amount workers must be paid. Currently it differs between different 'age bands', although the Labour government has committed to removing them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help improve the recruitment and retention of cybersecurity specialists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help improve the recruitment and retention of cybersecurity specialists.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the level of recruitment for specialist engineering, cyber and digital defence roles required by the Defence Investment Plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the level of recruitment for specialist engineering, cyber and digital defence roles required by the Defence Investment Plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of police officer numbers in England; and what steps she is taking to increase the police workforce.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of police officer numbers in England; and what steps she is taking to increase the police workforce.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of NHS dental funding levels on the recruitment and retention of dentists providing NHS care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of NHS dental funding levels on the recruitment and retention of dentists providing NHS care.

My Lords, alongside improved teacher retention, 369 music teacher trainees started training last year—a 55% increase compared to academic year 2023-24. Music teachers are a key part of our pledge for 6,500 additional teachers and we are making good progress, with over 70% of that target achieved. We recently announced a new pay award, including for music teachers, and accepted the recommendations of the independent body, meaning that schoolteachers will see a 17% increase in pay since this Government took office.

My Lords, alongside improved teacher retention, 369 music teacher trainees started training last year—a 55% increase compared to academic year 2023-24. Music teachers are a key part of our pledge for 6,500 additional teachers and we are making good progress, with over 70% of that target achieved. We recently announced a new pay award, including for music teachers, and accepted the recommendations of the independent body, meaning that schoolteachers will see a 17% increase in pay since this Government took office.

My Lords, under Conservative-led Governments, the EBacc and Progress 8 worked to squeeze music out of the curriculum. Recruitment targets for music teacher training were missed for 11 out of 12 years. In fact, the number of music teachers fell by 850 between 2011 and 2023. I am sure that the Labour Government’s reforms will strengthen provision, but the music curriculum is also constrained by music teacher workforce supply, which is fundamentally a question of unequal opportunity to choose music as a subject. Will my noble friend the Minister look again at teacher training incentives, such as the bursary, and at re-establishing ambitious recruitment targets?

My Lords, under Conservative-led Governments, the EBacc and Progress 8 worked to squeeze music out of the curriculum. Recruitment targets for music teacher training were missed for 11 out of 12 years. In fact, the number of music teachers fell by 850 between 2011 and 2023. I am sure that the Labour Government’s reforms will strengthen provision, but the music curriculum is also constrained by music teacher workforce supply, which is fundamentally a question of unequal opportunity to choose music as a subject. Will my noble friend the Minister look again at teacher training incentives, such as the bursary, and at re-establishing ambitious recruitment targets?

We look at the subjects to be covered by the bursary on the basis of need and difficulty in recruitment. Given the encouraging improvements in music teacher recruitment over recent years, we have decided not to continue the bursary this year. My noble friend also made an important point about the curriculum, and we have already reformed the EBacc accountability measure and removed it, because it limited children’s choice of what they learned at school. Through the curriculum and assessment review, we will bring about further improvements in the music curriculum.

We look at the subjects to be covered by the bursary on the basis of need and difficulty in recruitment. Given the encouraging improvements in music teacher recruitment over recent years, we have decided not to continue the bursary this year. My noble friend also made an important point about the curriculum, and we have already reformed the EBacc accountability measure and removed it, because it limited children’s choice of what they learned at school. Through the curriculum and assessment review, we will bring about further improvements in the music curriculum.

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister, who is a brilliant Minister, for her reply. But she erred slightly in blaming the EBacc, which provides no constraint on choice. What supports choice, of course, is the provision of music hubs. Under the coalition Government, Darren Henley’s music review ensured that they are there to provide support for all schools, but sadly, under the latter years of the Conservative Government, and under this Government, there has been no real-terms increase in funding for music hubs. We know that the incoming Prime Minister is a great fan of music and a champion of the Hallé Orchestra. Will the Minister encourage him to show “true faith” in our music hubs, end the “definitely maybe” culture of funding and guarantee a “new order” with a “wonderwall” of funding for them?

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister, who is a brilliant Minister, for her reply. But she erred slightly in blaming the EBacc, which provides no constraint on choice. What supports choice, of course, is the provision of music hubs. Under the coalition Government, Darren Henley’s music review ensured that they are there to provide support for all schools, but sadly, under the latter years of the Conservative Government, and under this Government, there has been no real-terms increase in funding for music hubs. We know that the incoming Prime Minister is a great fan of music and a champion of the Hallé Orchestra. Will the Minister encourage him to show “true faith” in our music hubs, end the “definitely maybe” culture of funding and guarantee a “new order” with a “wonderwall” of funding for them?

Oh dear. We are definitely investing £76 million annually in music hubs, which of course means that the 43 music hubs can continue their important work to help children, regardless of background, to access musical education, by providing instruments and resources. In addition, we are investing up to £13 million in the national centre for arts and music education, which we intend to establish by September, to provide support for the revised national curriculum, improve the professional development of music teachers and make sure that extracurricular school enrichment and partnerships with music and arts organisations are strengthened.

Oh dear. We are definitely investing £76 million annually in music hubs, which of course means that the 43 music hubs can continue their important work to help children, regardless of background, to access musical education, by providing instruments and resources. In addition, we are investing up to £13 million in the national centre for arts and music education, which we intend to establish by September, to provide support for the revised national curriculum, improve the professional development of music teachers and make sure that extracurricular school enrichment and partnerships with music and arts organisations are strengthened.

My Lords, further to the supplementary question from the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, does the Minister agree that what is needed most urgently, given that the Government are not taking into account the long-term decline in arts education, is a review of the way in which recruitment targets and ITT bursaries are calculated? This affects not just music but art and design. If they were really interested in boosting arts education, they would not just be looking at the most recent baselines.

My Lords, further to the supplementary question from the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, does the Minister agree that what is needed most urgently, given that the Government are not taking into account the long-term decline in arts education, is a review of the way in which recruitment targets and ITT bursaries are calculated? This affects not just music but art and design. If they were really interested in boosting arts education, they would not just be looking at the most recent baselines.

Every year, we review the recruitment trajectory for different subjects. Given the need to safeguard public money and ensure we are spending it efficiently, and given that we have had a 55% increase in recruitment to initial music teacher training and the lowest leaving rate—8.7%—for music teachers at any point, apart from during the pandemic, I do not think it unreasonable to conclude that, at this point in time, the bursary is not required to bring about recruitment. As I said, we will of course review that every year. We will keep in mind the number of teachers needed to maintain the proportion of hours taught by specialist music teachers in our schools at above 90%, and we will, as we have already proved, pay more if necessary to get the teachers our children need.

Every year, we review the recruitment trajectory for different subjects. Given the need to safeguard public money and ensure we are spending it efficiently, and given that we have had a 55% increase in recruitment to initial music teacher training and the lowest leaving rate—8.7%—for music teachers at any point, apart from during the pandemic, I do not think it unreasonable to conclude that, at this point in time, the bursary is not required to bring about recruitment. As I said, we will of course review that every year. We will keep in mind the number of teachers needed to maintain the proportion of hours taught by specialist music teachers in our schools at above 90%, and we will, as we have already proved, pay more if necessary to get the teachers our children need.

My Lords, if the Government are serious about expanding arts opportunities, along with other opportunities outside the core curriculum, do they accept that they not only have to be aggressive about recruiting teachers but must make sure that they reach those groups who cannot get there through the private sector? If you want equality, you have to have teachers in schools across the board who are reaching those communities that do not usually access private teaching. Is this a priority? Where does it fit in with the national centre for the arts?

My Lords, if the Government are serious about expanding arts opportunities, along with other opportunities outside the core curriculum, do they accept that they not only have to be aggressive about recruiting teachers but must make sure that they reach those groups who cannot get there through the private sector? If you want equality, you have to have teachers in schools across the board who are reaching those communities that do not usually access private teaching. Is this a priority? Where does it fit in with the national centre for the arts?