News update, 21st April
A news update from the Crafts Council for 21 April 2010
Liberal Democrat manifesto
Since our last briefing note, the Liberal Democrats have published their election manifesto, completing the line-up of manifestos from the major parties. The manifesto contains a section specifically on culture, which opens with an assertion of the importance of the arts: “Liberal Democrats believe that the arts are a central part of civic and community life. They contribute to innovation, education, diversity, and social inclusion, and the creative industries are one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.” Policies of interest to the craft sector include a commitment to a Creative Enterprise Fund to help creative businesses get off the ground.
Download the full manifesto here
Higher Education as an election issue
All the major parties’ manifestos include commitments on Higher and Further Education. The Conservative manifesto includes an acknowledgement of the value of “fundamental research with no immediate application” and a commitment to delay the implementation of the Research Excellence Framework because of concerns about how impact can be measured. Their manifesto also includes a promise of changes to the way that training and skills are organised including 400,000 new training places over two years and a reform of the bodies that fund FE.
The Labour manifesto drops the commitment to getting 50% of young people into higher education and replaces it with a new commitment that 75% of young people should complete higher education, an advanced apprenticeship or technician level training by the age of 30. It promises more paid internships to help people from lower income backgrounds enter competitive professions, and reiterates the commitment to focus additional funding on STEM subjects.
Both Labour and the Conservatives promise to wait for the findings of the current review of student finance, led by Lord Browne, before making commitments in this area. The Liberal Democrat manifesto promises to phase out tuition fees over six years and reform the current bursary scheme. They also promise a reform of the FE non-departmental bodies and other proposed changes to FE include more generous funding for apprenticeships and Foundation Degrees.
Election guides
The National Campaign for the Arts and the Museums Association both have online guides for arts bodies and museums who want to use the General Election campaign as an opportunity for advocacy. The Museum Association guide can be found here and The National Campaign for the Arts here
