Petition to fight Brighton and Hove music fund cuts

Campaigners have launched a petition to save a music service from town hall cuts.

Brighton and Hove City Council’s Green administration has proposed to cut the subsidy to the local authority’s music and arts service.

Now campaigners for the service, which supports 2,500 youngsters every week and has been rated “outstanding” for the past three years, want to get 1,250 signatures so the issue is debated by the local authority.

Keith Turvey, who started the petition, said: “We believe that an outstanding music and arts service, such as we have in Brighton and Hove, is an integral part of a comprehensive education for all children in our city.”

Hove MP Mike Weatherley backed the campaign, adding: “It will have a massively detrimental impact on music and music education in the city.”

The budget plans for the next financial year will be agreed by the full council in February.

Signatures are being accepted online until January 16. To sign, visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk and search for e-petitions.

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Comments(11)

graham_Seagull says...
3:18pm Fri 9 Dec 11

My 8 year old daughter has discovered the violin during after school lessons and she is turning out to be very good at it. We're really proud of her.

These lessons are only available as the service is part funded by the council, meaning the music teachers are available.

I wouldnt be able to afford normal price lessons for her, and there has to be a place for music and other skills within schools.

jimbobmaginty says...
3:48pm Fri 9 Dec 11

Go greens! Another idiotic move!

Cath S says...
5:25pm Fri 9 Dec 11

I think it's really short-sighted to cut music services when it's been proven that participating in music helps children to do better in all areas of their education, as well as providing a great hobby. It's an investment.

My daughter has benefited from the music service for 7 years; it is a high-quality service with dedicated teachers. Without the subsidy, many of us who don't receive benefits but aren't on high incomes either won't be able to access the service.

The Gnome says...
6:09pm Fri 9 Dec 11

Fantastic... a town that prides itself on its artistic profile and its festivals. Now you're going to deny children from less well off backgrounds the chance to access decent music tuition. Is that what you smug, middle class, open house types wanted when you voted green? Perhaps it's time to have a word with your councillors.

John Steed says...
7:05pm Fri 9 Dec 11

The Gnome wrote:
Fantastic... a town that prides itself on its artistic profile and its festivals. Now you're going to deny children from less well off backgrounds the chance to access decent music tuition. Is that what you smug, middle class, open house types wanted when you voted green? Perhaps it's time to have a word with your councillors.
a no brainer, stupidity from the greens 611 signed todate get some more in peoples show some people power on an issue that matters

Councillor Curly Wurly's Underpants says...
10:03pm Fri 9 Dec 11

Parents need to get real and not just expect the council to fund music lessons. These days most people can afford a PA or a Nanny so why not cut down down on some of these costs to pay for your child's music lessons? If you really can't do without your PA how about getting your child to take up the bongos? It is easy to establish a rudimentary beat and you can meet many alternative people in Brighton who meet up in public places to play the same beat for hours on end. Easy

Servalan says...
10:03pm Fri 9 Dec 11

Why is the Tory MP complaining about cuts?!? The Greens are only having to make cuts because Tory central government are slashing their grant /facepalms/

Anyways, it's not like anyone can make a living out of music these days anymore, what with all the pirate bay freetards downloading everything from torrents for free.

Almighty Sky Pixie says...
12:41pm Sat 10 Dec 11

Surely the money can be found from elsewhere. Get rid of the winter fuel allowance for starters - we need more old people to die from frost-bite or malnutrition - Then there will be plenty of money for every child to play the bongo bongo in preparation for their life-changing x-factor audition.
The government is dividing up parts of the NHS amongst their friends at the moment and the NHS will be almost completely in private hands in but a few years - so we can at last speed up the fall in life-expectancy of people in the UK which will, in turn, lift us out of recession and also help fund larger break-dancing academies (by also heavily taxing pot-noodles and vodka+red-bull).
Legalising drugs would increase tax revenue and also effectively add a, much needed, drop of chlorine to the gene pool.
Alternatively, Cameron could perhaps force his buddies to pay the enormous amount of tax they owe / avoid - then perhaps education cuts wouldn't be necessary...I know, it's my craziest idea yet.

AmboGuy says...
1:54pm Sat 10 Dec 11

Servalan wrote:
Why is the Tory MP complaining about cuts?!? The Greens are only having to make cuts because Tory central government are slashing their grant /facepalms/

Anyways, it's not like anyone can make a living out of music these days anymore, what with all the pirate bay freetards downloading everything from torrents for free.
****** GREEN SUPPORTER ALERT.....GREEN SUPPORTER ALERT ****
Carefull what you say folks, Servalan reports back on a daily basis to Caroline Clueless personally.

susaner says...
8:28pm Sun 11 Dec 11

Brighton has always supported the arts, how CAN this city deny it's children free music tuition?
Not acceptable.!

interesting one says...
2:16am Wed 14 Dec 11

I'm a little unclear - are people trying to deny that central government has been making cuts to local councils?

Councils have been progressively starved of government money first by Labour and now at an even more alarming rate by the ConDems.

Of course funding music education is absolutely vital but it's the government's job to facilitate that through central government funding programmes and / or through offering local councils enough money to do that with. Sadly neither of these are happening at the moment but it's not fair to blame any local councils for this, whatever colour they are.

As I understand it Brighton & Hove is one of the few councils in the whole country to offer any extra subsidy to their music service.

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