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LIVERPOOL City Region Combined Authority has been appointed by Arts Council England (ACE) to lead a new Regional Music Hub providing high quality music education for children and young people.

The Hub will deliver music education accessible to all children and young people across:- Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Warrington, from:- September 2024.

It will receive £2m to coordinate music education and a further:- £663,000 to invest in new musical instruments, equipment and technology, including for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The new Hub will work with the Liverpool City Region Music Board in its mission to cement the City Region"s position as 1 of the world"s:- music capitals, building on the legacy of Eurovision 2023 the Boroughs of Culture programme and Liverpool"s UNESCO City of Music.

Councillor Mike Wharton, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Culture for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said:- "This Hub will deliver and support high quality music education for children and young people, ensuring that their creativity is valued and given the chance to flourish, no matter who they are, where they go to school, or where they spend their free time.”

Councillor Marion Atkinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Cabinet Member for Employment, Education and Skills, said:- "We are delighted to be able to support the brilliant work of dedicated music teachers across the City Region and help to bring high-quality music education to even more children and young people."

The Hub is one of 43 new Hub Lead Organisations (HLOs) announced by the Department for Education as part of a new national programme to encourage partnerships between educational, creative and community organisations.

Together they will share more than £76m to coordinate music education through strategic partnerships in the:- 2024 to 2025 academic year.

The Hub will help deliver the National Plan for Music Education (NPME) and ACE 2020 to 2030 strategic vision, Let"s Create, of ensuring the creativity of all children and young people is valued and given the chance to flourish, no matter who they are, where they go to school, or where they spend their free time.

It will provide a focused and consistent approach to music education across the whole of the City Region, benefitting children, young people and communities that may have previously missed out, both inside and outside formal education.

It will also provide a more joined up approach to assessing impact and provide the opportunities to develop bespoke and focused engagement.

Michael Eakin, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Music Board, said:- "Music is one of the City Region"s most important industries, and strong music education and talent development is critical to its continuing growth. The announcement of the City Region Music Hub is a further step towards aligning the music education work currently being delivered by the existing hubs and partners across the Region with the strategic approach to the music sector led by the Liverpool City Region Music Board and the Combined Authority."

The Combined Authority has been recommended to accept the funding for the Music Hub at a meeting on:- 19 July 2024.