Hansard

I am pleased to be able to introduce this debate today; I thank all members who signed the motion.

A number of members have asked why the motion is so long—it is the longest motion ever debated in the Parliament. I was concerned that it would not be selected for debate so, in effect, I wrote much of the speech in the motion. However, matters have moved on since then, so forgive me if I elaborate somewhat.

The matter was first brought to my attention by Mr Robert Eadie, who is a resident of the ward that I used to represent on Glasgow City Council. His daughter, Gillian Barton, is artistic director of Ballet West, a company that was founded in 1991 and, in 1995, began to teach full-time classical ballet courses. Ballet West is situated near Taynuilt, in the shadow of Ben Cruachan. Its reputation as a centre of excellence soon spread far and wide throughout the ballet world; its dancers have won numerous awards.

For example, in 1997, Sara-Maria Barton became the first female dancer from Scotland to win an Adeline Genee award in the 63-year history of the competition and the first female from the UK since 1991. Furthermore, in 1999, Kelly McCole was the only British dancer to reach the final of that competition.

Time prevents me from detailing further the numerous other awards that have been won by dancers from Ballet West or the outstanding teaching that it has brought to the school. Suffice it to say, it has now attracted students and teachers not only from across the UK and Europe but from as far afield as Guatemala, Malaysia and Japan. Indeed, that well-known nationalist Billy Connolly was so impressed by Ballet West after its participation in the film "Mrs Brown" that he agreed to be its patron.

Unfortunately, Ballet West believes that its very existence is threatened by an anomaly that differentiates between dance companies north and south of the border. Historically, local councils across the UK were responsible for funding for dance students. With cuts in local authority funding throughout the 1990s, it soon became apparent that receipt of a grant was determined by postcode instead of individual talent.

On 27 November 1998, dance and drama awards—or DADAs—were established by the Department for Education and Employment. A student who wins a place at an institution offering courses in dance, drama and stage management is required to provide £1,050 for their fees, with the remainder being met by the DADA. Students who receive a DADA can also apply to a fees and maintenance fund to pay the student's proportion of the fees. Furthermore, students from England and Wales may receive up to £3,000 towards living expenses, which is means-tested against parental income.

With the change to central Government funding, the system of accreditation has moved from the independent Council for Dance Education and Training to a scheme involving the Further Education Funding Council inspectorate, industry representatives, the DFEE, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Arts Council of England. Dance schools on the scheme are required to teach new further education qualifications written and assessed by Trinity College, London.

No Scottish dance school can join the scheme, as education is now a devolved issue. However, the qualifications of Trinity College can be offered and funding for Ballet West provided if ministers give the Scottish Further Education Funding Council guidance to do so.

That is the conundrum. On 31 January, the Executive wrote to Ballet West advising that

"responsibility for ensuring the provision, including the funding, of further education training lies with the Scottish Further Education Funding Council".

However, on 19 February, Ballet West responded:

"The Council cannot provide funding for provision of organisations outwith this list without seeking the agreement of the Scottish Executive".

As that list comprises the organisations that are prioritised by the Executive, I ask the minister to address that issue in his response.

Why is this important? Although dance students from across the UK and European Union are accepted into institutions south of the border on ability, students from Scotland cannot access the fees and maintenance fund. Because of non-accreditation, students at institutions in Scotland, such as Ballet West, receive no funding to pay their fees.

Dance students in Scotland can obtain maintenance grants from their local authority if it is supportive; however, although councils such as Angus, Argyll and Bute and Glasgow are supportive, others are not. As a result, maintenance costs fall on students and their families in a fairly random way, depending on where they live—which is, ironically, why the system south of the border was changed some years ago.

As accreditation does not exist in Scotland, no DADA is available to students at Ballet West. That is an anomaly that the company is keen to have addressed. All fees are currently paid by the families of those who study, which places great strain on such families and limits those who can access ballet training in Scotland by family income, not by talent. For example, the income of 17-year-old Jill Hamilton's family is only £24,000, almost half of which will have to go towards her training and living costs, placing real hardship on a family that simply wish the best for their daughter. Jill's brother and sister must also be considered by the family.

Ironically, although Jill Hamilton is from Appin, which is near Ballet West, she suffers from the double whammy that is imposed by the lack of access to funding for fees and living costs. If she moved to London to study, all but £1,050 of her fees would be paid; however, her family believe that she would receive poorer tuition. Others do not wish their children to move from Scotland at such a young age. As a result, the potential for a Scottish Billy Elliot is very limited.

As the motion indicates, 34 potential students have had to reject offers to study at Ballet West due to lack of funding, compared with only two who have rejected offers at institutions south of the border. So much for social inclusion.

In launching last year's cultural strategy, the Executive talked about

"widening opportunities, promoting education, developing and promoting excellence".

That is not happening for classical ballet dancing in Scotland.

Unless the situation changes, Ballet West may have to move to England, depriving the fragile economy of Taynuilt of income from the dance school and its students, inflicting job losses on teaching and administrative staff and depriving local schoolchildren of supplementary activities in schools, such as dance classes and public performances. That may also lead to an unnecessary drain of creative artistic talent from Scotland.

The Executive has stated in correspondence to Ballet West that

"there is no widespread evidence of demand for post-16 Dance and Drama training in Scotland."

In fact, demand is strong. It would be stronger if access to funding was comparable to that south of the border and if discrimination was ended.