More than 157,000 people have signed a petition calling on the education secretary to stop proposed funding cuts to arts subjects at higher education level.

Public Campaign for the Arts director Jack Gamble said: “Arts education should be among the government’s strategic priorities.

“The arts enrich our lives, our communities and our economy too. In lockdown, millions turned to them to support their mental health. Before the pandemic, the creative industries were growing five times faster than the UK economy as a whole and generating more than £111 billion a year. We risk losing these benefits without proper support for the creative skills underpinning them.”