Local Conservatives hit out at cuts to Moray music tuition
Conservatives politicians in Moray have hit out at proposals by the Council’s SNP administration which would nearly double the cost of music tuition.
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston and Moray councillor Claire Feaver have condemned plans to increase the cost of music lessons by 85 percent, a raise which would leave Moray with the highest fees in Scotland.
This has led to reports that the head of the council’s music tuition, John Mustard, has resigned over the increase in charges that would see fees raised to £699 a year.
Councillor Claire Feaver (Conservative – Forres) said:
“Both my children benefited enormously from the wonderful music tuition provided by John Mustard’s team and I simply cannot support a measure that will deprive other families of a service that my own family was able to take advantage of.
“I don’t think we could have afforded the fees the Council is now proposing and I fear that, as a result, many families won’t be able to participate and the whole service will collapse as the number of participants falls.
“The gift of a music education is one of the greatest things any community can give its young people and we are rightly proud of Moray’s proud tradition in this respect. It is absolutely tragic that someone as committed to providing that service as John Mustard has resigned in protest at these proposals. Cllr Leadbitter and his colleagues need to think again.”
Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for the Highlands and Islands said:
“The Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop has hailed the protection of music budgets at a national level, boasting that this was a ‘political choice’ by the SNP. Meanwhile, with these increases in music tuition fees, her party colleagues on Moray Council are diverting the impact of Moray’s poor budget settlement on to young people locally, depriving them of the opportunity to build and develop their talents.
“Councils across Scotland are having incredibly difficult decisions forced on them by a tin-eared SNP administration in Edinburgh which simply doesn’t care about the impact of its cuts on local communities and local people.
“The SNP must act to reverse these changes now.”
