§ Lady Olga MaitlandTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make a statement on the future administration of teachers' pensions in England and Wales. [27443]
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§ Sir George YoungProvisional estimates at 1995–96 income levels based on a projection of the 1992–93 survey of personal incomes and other survey data in line with assumptions in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1995–96" are given in the table. The estimates do not take account of certain tax reliefs for which detailed distributional information is not available, including personal equity plans, tax-exempt special savings accounts, profit-related pay and national savings.
§ Mr. Robin SquireMy right hon. Friend has decided to invite expressions of interest for a contract to administer the teachers' superannuation scheme.
The report that we commissioned from the consultants KPMG concluded that a contract with a private sector company would offer the prospect of substantial savings for the taxpayer. We owe it to the taxpayer to find out whether such savings are indeed available. Inviting expressions of interest for a contract will help to establish this. We shall let a contract only if it would provide better value for money than keeping the administration of the teachers' superannuation scheme in the public sector. We expect that any contract would start in the latter part of 1996.
The contract would require a standard of service and performance that was at least as high as that which the Teachers Pensions Agency would provide. We would monitor the contractor's performance to ensure that he met those standards. A contractor would not be allowed to use data on teachers for purposes other than administering the scheme.
Any contract would concern only the administration of the scheme. Whether or not the administration is contractorised, the scheme itself will stay in the public sector, on its current statutory basis; my right hon. Friend will remain responsible to Parliament for the scheme; and officials in the Department for Education will be responsible for advising Ministers on policy on teachers' pensions. Letting a contract would not affect the size or safety of teachers' pensions in any way.
The Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that the scheme continues to operate smoothly and without interruption. Any contractor would therefore have to be a well-established company with a proven track record and a reputation for sound relations between staff and management. The crucial importance of continuity would give a natural advantage to potential contractors who proposed to continue to operate from the TPA's current site in Darlington.
We are advised that DFE staff who transferred to a new employer would have the protection offered by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. If we transferred the administration of 207W the scheme to the private sector, the contracts of employment of those civil servants employed on the work concerned immediately before the transfer would therefore automatically transfer to the contractor.
We are grateful to all those who submitted comments during recent consultations on the TPA's future. I have placed a summary of those comments—and the Government's responses to them—in the Library. The comments showed a widespread view that the TPA provides a good service to teachers. That reflects credit on the staff of the TPA and on its chief executive, Denyse Metcalfe. We now want to build on the TPA's success. We believe that the best way to do so is to invite
School catering services £000 1987–88 to 1993–94 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 Net expenditure Total Berkshire n/a n/a 1,825 1,145 1,522 1,938 2,281 9,614 Lincolnshire 2,002 1,935 1,971 1,982 785 914 875 11,389 Hereford and Worcester 1,645 1,383 1,393 1,372 1,772 1,886 1,809 12,178 Dorset 1,570 1,553 1,624 1,322 1,599 1,998 1,873 12,451 Buckinghamshire 2,118 1,577 2,109 1,519 1,611 1,980 1,659 13,477 Gloucestershire 2,715 2,366 2,835 2,758 2,790 1,959 1,586 17,925 Somerset 4,122 3,038 3,082 3,117 2,311 1,706 1,775 20,084 Cornwall 2,679 2,394 2,312 2,759 3,269 3,394 2,751 20,466 Shropshire 3,899 2,670 3,080 1,881 2,501 3,071 2,643 20,677 West Sussex 2,857 2,427 2,491 2,345 2,993 3,355 3,720 21,126 Suffolk 4,641 2,702 n/a 430 3,624 6,773 2,307 21,412 Northamptonshire 5,575 2,553 3,903 3,535 1,715 2,156 1,883 22,248 Wiltshire 3,210 3,090 3,583 2,985 2,779 2,862 3,039 22,487 Oxfordshire 2,926 2,893 2,445 2,933 2,978 3,303 4,182 22,591 Warwickshire 3,969 3,929 3,284 3,057 3,489 3,722 3,429 25,816 Northumberland 3,786 3,443 3,552 3,513 3,906 3,776 3,150 26,055 Cumbria 4,388 3,544 3,148 3,960 3,826 2,837 3,505 26,117 Cambridgeshire 3,125 2,875 2,679 3,833 3,935 4,707 4,448 26,507 North Yorkshire 6,145 2,884 4,538 3,385 3,201 3,376 3,667 28,123 Bedfordshire 2,995 3,274 3,918 3,795 4,001 5,184 4,786 28,855 Surrey 6,046 2,508 2,689 3,610 4,400 5,695 3,709 29,593 East Sussex 3,837 3,803 4,464 3,964 5,120 5,950 3,975 32,027 Norfolk 3,655 3,463 3,072 3,917 4,887 6,623 6,169 32,712 Kent 6,281 4,968 6,327 3,302 8,049 5,323 6,055 41,228 Cheshire 8,208 7,356 6,065 4,279 5,079 5,685 5,539 43,117 Devon 6,935 6,766 7,548 4,832 5,537 6,466 6,539 45,534 Hertfordshire 5,746 4,405 4,561 6,319 9,508 9,243 5,396 46,097 Staffordshire 7,154 6,735 4,887 5,211 7,232 7,294 7,526 46,973 Leicestershire 9,156 5,749 5,561 7,041 7,541 6,707 6,633 49,312 Durham 7,458 6,416 7,390 7,331 8,453 9,866 2,158 49,985 Essex 12,462 8,315 6,579 5,366 5,898 6,605 6,235 52,375 Hampshire 6,040 5,719 6,779 7,931 10.333 10,745 11,590 60,054 Nottinghamshire 12,821 12,382 9,960 7,518 n/a 12,045 11,593 67,249 Cleveland 10,073 7,948 8,827 10,158 10,910 10,914 10,258 69,995 Avon 8,789 8,066 7,834 11,484 11,328 11,878 10,599 70,879 Humberside 12,321 9,750 9,396 11,580 14,693 14,992 17,121 90,773 Lancashire 13,987 11,710 12,795 11,266 13,424 14,830 15,074 94,009 Derbyshire 15,723 16,975 14,111 15,336 18,679 19,381 13,908 115,023 n/a not available