Scottish budget includes £12m to remove music tuition costs

Published on 9 December, the Scottish Budget 2022-23 has confirmed an investment of £12m to remove music tuition charges in schools.

The figure is part of a £24m sum from the government to support young people and their families with the cost of the school day. 

Other measures include the removal of core curriculum charges and increasing the school clothing grant. 

The Music Education Partnership Group (MEPG) has been campaigning for these changes and recently published the Music Manifesto for Scotland in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, in which the removal of tuition fees was recommended.

In 2020 it was reported that the number of students in Scotland learning a musical instrument had dropped by almost 5,500 since 2016/17 - an all-time low since the Instrumental Music Service (IMS)'s annual report began in 2012/13.

The Scottish Budget 2022-23 can be found here.