There will be a “pause” to funding of Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI), it has emerged.
However, culture minister Neil Gray responded this morning to concerns about the future of the YMI by stating that its funding is ”secure and will not be reduced”.
Concerns had emerged that the YMI, which has given Scottish pupils experience of music for some 20 years, had become a victim of cost-cutting in the Scottish government’s emergency budget review, prompted by the cost-of-living crisis.
In a tweet at 10.17am this morning, however, Mr Gray said: “The funding for YMI is secure.”
Later in the morning, Tes Scotland received a statement in which Mr Gray said: “While there is a brief pause in the distribution of funding while the Cost of Living Emergency Budget Review is completed, the funding for Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative is secure and will not be reduced.
“The Scottish government recognises the important role this programme plays in nurturing the talents of children and young people across the country.”
His comment followed a letter dated Monday 12 September from Anne Langley, executive director of operations at Creative Scotland, which administers the YMI.
Ms Langley’s letter, to YMI funding contacts, shared a statement that the Scottish government had provided in relation to 2022-23 YMI funding, which said that the emergency budget review meant it had to “assess all opportunities to redirect additional resources to those most in need, reduce the burdens on business and stimulate the Scottish economy”.
The government statement shared by Ms Langley also said that first minister Nicola Sturgeon had, in recently announcing the 2022-23 Programme for Government, “noted that this will mean hard choices”, adding: “We will continue to work with Creative Scotland to ensure that organisations directly affected are kept informed as the situation progresses.”
Ms Langley’s letter, in response to this statement from the government, then goes on: “As a result, YMI funding is now paused. We understand the significant impact that this will have on staff, freelancers, children and young people. We are aware that some local authorities are incurring ongoing costs relating to their programmes and have been communicating this with the Scottish government.”
She concludes her letter by saying that Creative Scotland will “provide further updates as soon as we have them”.
Before Mr Gray’s statements this morning, Alastair Orr, an instrumental music instructor and a campaigner for music education, said: “There is great concern that the pausing of the funding for the Youth Music Initiative, a hugely successful project over 20 nearly years, would see thousands of children across Scotland’s schools missing out on a crucial opportunity to experience music that they might not otherwise get.”
Mr Gray’s first statement this morning was a reply on Twitter to former MSP Andy Wightman, who tweeted at 6.49pm yesterday that the government and Creative Scotland had ”cut all Youth Music Initiative funding with immediate effect”.
This morning, Mr Gray replied: “Hi Andy, this is incorrect. The funding for YMI is secure.”
