Mr Jonathan Mayes CEO, Cathedral Music Trust jonathan.mayes@cathedralmusictrust.org.uk
Dear Mr Mayes,
E:
www.gov.uk/dcms
9 March 2026 Our Ref: TO2026/01956/dm
Thank you for your correspondence of 27 February, to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, about the recognition of English sacred choral music as living heritage. I am replying as a member of the Ministerial Support Team.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) acknowledges the significant cultural, educational, and economic contributions that this tradition provides to the UK and recognises your call to include English sacred choral music on the inventories of living heritage in the UK. As you mention, its inclusion in the inventories would provide recognition of its significance, contributing in part to its safeguarding through greater awareness and understanding. DCMS encourages you to make a submission. It will be included on the inventories if it meets the published criteria. The government will set out its approach to further supporting communities to safeguard their living heritage later this year.
DCMS recognises the unique role that cathedrals play as active performance venues, attracting over 10 million visitors annually and functioning as a cornerstone of the musical economy. It supports the arts sector, including choirs and singing, through its arm’s-length body, Arts Council England (ACE). For the 2024/25 financial year, ACE has allocated £1.83 million in National Lottery Project Grants to projects classified under 'Choral’. Additionally, the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has long supported projects that seek to explore, preserve and share the English choral tradition - both sacred and secularas well as a wider range of projects that support its infrastructure, through activity such as the repair of historic places of worship and organs. For example, NLHF recently awarded £233,073 in January of this year to the Sound Foundations project from Hull Minster.
DCMS recognises that high quality arts and music education, including singing, is an essential part of broad and rich education that every child deserves and has committed to revitalising arts education as part of the reformed national curriculum including through the £13 million investment into the National Centre for Arts and Music Education launching in September 2026. The National Centre will also oversee the Music Hubs network from September 2027, which will include overseeing the range of ensemble and choir activities that Hubs currently run to foster teamwork and collaboration through music.
Thank you once again for your dedicated advocacy for English sacred choral music and for bringing these important matters to the government’s attention. DCMS looks forward to receiving your submission to the inventories of living heritage.
Yours sincerely,
Dempster Marples Ministerial Support Team
