Teachers' Pay (Hansard, 31 January 1991)

§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke

I have now received the fourth report of the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions. Its main recommendations area 9.5 per cent. increase in the standard scale for classroom teachers a 12.75 per cent. increase in the pay spine for heads and deputies a 30 per cent. increase in the value of the five rates of incentive allowances an extra 9,100 incentive allowances for the 1991–92 academic year, so that nearly 200,000 teachers will hold the allowances a 50 per cent. increase in the upper limit of discretionary scale points to be awarded on top of the standard scale for good classroom performance a 9.38 per cent. increase in the value of London allowances and the inner London supplement from 1 July 1990 greater local discretion about the pay of heads and deputies an amendment to teachers' conditions of service to require them to co-operate in new arrangements for their appraisal to be established by regulations.

The committee's recommendations address all the issues that my predecessor asked it to consider when setting this year's remit. They should substantially help the recruitment, retention and motivation of sufficient teachers of the quality the country needs. I am most grateful to the committee for all the work which it put into its report.

The recommendations offer considerable flexibility to make discretionary and selective payments as governing bodies and LEAs judge best in the light of local 591W circumstances. They are directed towards recognition of good teaching, extra responsibility and scarce qualifications. They will improve career prospects and incentives to promotion within the profession. The committee emphasised the benefits of appraisal for individual teachers, for heads, for the management of schools and ultimately for pupils. It also recognised that appraisal might have a link, although indirect, with pay.

I propose to accept all the committee's recommendations, but, as for the doctors, nurses and other groups covered by the review bodies except the armed forces, to stage their introduction over the period up to 1 December 1991.

The decision to stage was taken in view of the size of the recommendations and for wider economic reasons. It now seems overwhelmingly likely that inflation will fall to 5.5 per cent. by the end of the year. I believe that it is right to reflect the sharp drop in pay expectations in the rest of the economy by the staging of this generous award for teachers.

I propose to increase all pay scales by 7.5 per cent. from 1 April 1991. I propose to implement from the same date the committee's proposals for greater local discretion about the pay of heads and deputies, and to backdate to 1 July 1990 increases in London allowances. The increase of 30 per cent. in the value of incentive allowances would be introduced on 1 December 1991, as would the further increases in the scales needed to bring them up to the full amounts recommended by the committee. The extra 9,100 incentive allowances proposed by the committee would be introduced from September 1991, as it recommended. The committee's recommendations would thus be implemented in full on 1 December 1991. Overall, the increases in the pay bills for school teachers in England and Wales flowing from these proposals would be 8.4 per cent. in 1991–92 and 11.3 per cent. in a full year.

The education standard spending totals we announced last autumn comfortably allow for the cost of implementing these recommendations as well as for the follow-through costs of the 1990–91 pay award. These totals also include an element for the exercise of local discretion introduced following the recommendations of the committee's previous report and of this one which we are assuming will add a further 1.5 per cent. to the pay bill. This leaves plenty of scope for well-managed authorities to find resources for the other pressing demands on the education budget.

I am publishing the committee's report today and have initiated the consultations required by section 3(1) of the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Act 1987 on my detailed proposals for implementing its recommendations.