Following a meeting of the full council today the Conservative group have welcomed a huge victory with the reduction of musical instruction charges by 30%.
Commenting is leader of the group Cllr Tim Eagle (Buckie Ward);
“The councils charges for musical instruction were amongst the highest in the area, given we are a low wage economy and taking into account the effects that COVID have had on the service it was vital that we debate again what those charges should look like moving forward. I am aware that the service has lost nearly 100 students since the beginning of COVID."
“We spoke with officers about how we could reduce these charges to make musical instruction as accessible as possible for those currently using it but also to encourage a new generation of students to take up playing an instrument.”
“Lowering charges would make instruction much more attractive to parents. It is already well known that learning a musical instrument has positive impacts on mental health, wellbeing and attainment."
“I have every belief that musical instruction is an important part of the recovery process for our young people and we firmly believe it should be as accessible as possible”
“Personally I would love it to be free, but we are not in a position to do that at this moment, perhaps in the future though we can move to a model where musical instruction, a vital part of our culture, truly is accessible to all."
