Teachers: Pay Award (Hansard, 9 February 1999)

§ Baroness Blatch
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What will be the total cost of the recently announced pay award for teachers in each of the next three years. [HL863]

§ The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Baroness Blackstone)
The estimated cost in England will be £409 million in 1999–2000, £420 million in 2000–01 and £420 million in 2001–02. The equivalent figures for England and Wales are £435 million. £448 million and £448 million.

§ Baroness Blatch
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether all teachers who qualify to pass through the recently announced performance threshold will be paid at the higher level. [HL861]

§ Baroness Blackstone
Yes.

§ Baroness Blatch
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether schools which have a higher than average number of teachers passing through the performance threshold will be funded to meet the higher level of salaries. [HL862]

§ Baroness Blackstone
The Technical Consultation Document on Pay and Performance Management, published on 1 February, set out our objectives for the design of the funding mechanism for the early years of the new arrangements. These are:

to ensure that the distribution of resources reflects the extra costs as fairly as possible;

to get money to schools and teachers quickly and with a minimum of bureaucracy; and

to minimise any interference in the responsibility of heads to manage their staff and their resources.

The technical consultation document puts forward two options for the design of the funding mechanism, and final decisions will be taken in the light of responses to consultation.