Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes MP, has been elected Chair of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Performing Arts Education and Training which has been set up to examine the challenges facing the performing arts training sector and wider creative education issues.
The election took place during the APPG’s inaugural meeting on 13th January, in which former Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Lord Vaizey of Didcot, Sharon Hodgson MP, Lord Aberdare, Lord Clement-Jones, Lord Taylor of Warwick and Jack Lopresti MP were confirmed as Vice-Chairs. The group is made up of a partnership between MPs and industry body, the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT).
The purpose of the Group is to support parliamentarians in discussions relating to:
• Training, education, assessment and professional practices across the performing arts, particularly in drama, dance and musical theatre
• The continuing Professional Development of practitioners within the creative and cultural industries
• The wider benefits of engagement with the performing arts for students, practitioners and audiences.
The APPG will meet on a quarterly basis with the next gathering scheduled for March 2021 at which, fully constituted, it will begin this important work in earnest.
Glyndwr Jones, Director of CDMT, said:
“CDMT will act as the secretariat and public enquiry point for the Group and will facilitate submissions from vocational training schools, conservatoires and awarding organisations on current issues of vital importance to the sector, such as:
• The implications of Covid-19 and EU withdrawal
• Government support for the UK’s provision of world-class professional training in dance, drama and musical theatre
• The needs of private teachers working across all levels of study in the performing arts, and the opportunities for greater connectivity between statutory and private provision.’
“More broadly, young people, and their parents/guardians, require assurances that the creative industries will continue to offer valuable career options when rebuilding the UK economy after Covid-19.”
Simon Baynes MP said:
“I’m delighted to be elected as Chair of this new APPG and I want to thank the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT) for its tireless commitment and talents in making this initiative come to life. This is a cause close to my heart as an amateur musician and, before I became an MP, as Chairman of the Holroyd Community Theatre near Chirk, and as a Trustee of Mid Wales Opera and the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. I also set up the charity Concertina – Music for the Elderly which provides live music in care homes and day centres across Wales and England.
“Covid-19 has impacted the performing arts and creative industries very seriously, so I’m keen that we work as a group to examine the issues facing industry professionals at this critical time. All of us involved in this new APPG are determined to support to the best of our ability training, education, assessment and professional practices across the performing arts, particularly in drama, dance and musical theatre.”
