Responding to the government’s announcement that children will be guaranteed access to five hours a week of quality culture, Progressive Vision, the classical liberal think tank, has said that the proposals are a counter-productive gimmick. 

Mark Littlewood, Communications Director of Progressive Vision, said: 

“Just about the last way to get children interested in high-quality culture is to have two government ministers promising them five hours a week of the stuff. Young people appreciate theatre and art when introduced to it through their families, friends and peer group. This wrong-headed proposal is more likely to alienate pupils than to enthuse them. This government seems hell-bent on regulating, supervising, subsidising and organising  virtually every aspect of young people’s lives. If the government really wants to encourage pupils to flourish they need to stop rolling out these sort of counter-productive gimmicks.””