Teachers' Pay and Conditions (Hansard, 1 February 1990)

§ Mr. MacGregor

I have now received the third report of the interim advisory committee on school teachers' pay and conditions. Its main recommendations are—a new main scale for classroom teachers providing wide-ranging new local discretions, with increases for individual teachers ranging from 6.4 per cent. to 11.8 per cent. and an average increase of 8.3 per cent.; —a new system of range pay for heads and deputies with increases ranging from 9.9 per cent. to 11.2 per cent. and an average increase of 10.4 per cent.; 286W —a 17 per cent. increase in the value of B, C, D and E incentive allowances and an 8 per cent. increase in the value of A allowances; —an extra 14,400 incentive allowances for the 1990–91 academic year; —an 8.8 per cent. increase in London allowances from 1 July 1989; —a new discretionary inner London supplement of £750 a year.

The committee has now been in operation for three years.It has produced an outstanding report. Its recommendations address all the very important issues I asked it to consider when setting this year's remit. They should help substantially to ensure the recruitment, retention and motivation of sufficient teachers of the quality we need to meet the demands of delivering our education reforms. They target resources where they are most needed, 287W enhance flexibility and local discretion, improve career prospects, reward responsibility and good work, and make the profession more attractive to intending teachers. I propose to accept all the committee's recommendations, but as for groups covered by the review bodies, to stage their introduction over the period up to 1 January 1991.

I propose to increase all the pay scales by about 7 per cent. and all incentive allowances by about 8 per cent. as from 1 April 1990. I propose to implement from the same date the IAC's proposals for a new inner London pay supplement and backdated increases in London weighting allowances. The extra 14,400 incentive allowances proposed by the IAC would be introduced from 1 September 1990, as the committee has recommended. The committee's recommendations would be implemented in full with effect from 1 January 1991.

The IAC's report will be generally available next week, when I shall initiate the consultations required by section 3(1) of the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Act 1987 on my detailed proposals for implementing its recommendations.