§ 11. Mr. Barronasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will estimate the level of additional resources necessary to implement the management proposals to restructure the teachers' salary structure.
§ Sir Keith JosephThese proposals are from the local authority employers. They have not been endorsed by the Government and do not constitute a formal pay offer. Their initial cost would depend critically on the timing and manner of their introduction. The Department estimates that their annual cost would build up over seven years to something of the order of £650 million at current prices.
§ Mr. BarronDoes the Secretary of State accept that there is no justification for employers forcing on teachers what is nothing more than a contract? Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that the vast majority of teachers are likely to lose their good faith in the local authorities which force this contract on them? The vast majority of teachers are committed to the education of pupils. In effect, all that will happen is that relations between the teachers and their employers will be soured.
§ Sir Keith JosephI do not think that the hon. Gentleman's statement is justified. Negotiations are in progress, and no doubt both sides will make their opinions clear.
§ Mr. MacleanDoes my right hon. Friend accept that those of us who have worked in industry have experienced the system of performance appraisal and payments by results, which is common in industry? Will my right hon. Friend ensure that any system to restructure teachers' salaries will contain a similar element of performance appraisal and payments by results?
§ Sir Keith JosephThat is true not only in wide sections of industry but in the Civil Service and the Armed Forces.
§ Mr. FlanneryIs it not true that teachers are already deeply embittered by the fact that, during the past few years they have lost 30 per cent. of the Houghton report proposals, which were agreed by both sides of the House under a Labour Government? Teachers feel that. having lost that amount, another incursion into their conditions is provacative and is bound to result in some type of action from people who are among the most orderly people in our society.
§ Sir Keith JosephThose proposals are not this Government's proposals. I do not share the hon. Gentleman's opinion. His hankering after Houghton only misleads the teachers, because the world of Houghton has vanished-I hope for ever.
§ Mr. GreenwayDoes my right hon. Friend accept that within Britain and the teaching profession there is a great anxiety to ensure that good teachers in the classroom are properly rewarded and their professional efforts recognised, and that this restructuring would do that?
§ Sir Keith JosephI certainly agree in principle with my hon. Friend that it is absurd that the effective classroom teacher cannot be given a better career prospect than the ineffective teacher for staying in the classroom.