Teachers (Hansard, 7 May 2002)

§ Chris Grayling
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the reason for the change in the number of retirements due to ill-health by teachers since 1997. [54277]

§ Mr. Timms
The criteria governing entitlement to ill health retirement benefits were amended in 1997 to require that, despite appropriate treatment, applicants have a medical condition that would render them permanently incapable of undertaking any further teaching. In this context, permanent is defined as lasting at least up to the scheme's normal retirement age of 60. This replaced the previous less stringent criteria that required the presence of a medical condition that would prevent teaching only for the foreseeable future (defined as lasting at least 3–4 years).
The Department also commissioned the Faculty of Occupational Medicine to produce occupational health guidance specifically aimed at the employers of teachers. This guidance was published in December 2000. The reduction in the number of ill health retirements since 1997 is therefore a consequence of a greater awareness among teachers' employers of the benefits of effective occupational health provision, including consideration of alternatives to ill-health retirement such as part-time working or redeployment to less demanding duties, and the more rigorous criteria governing entitlement to ill health retirement benefits.

§ Chris Grayling
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her written answer of 29 April,Official Report, column 572W, where such assets are held if the scheme is unfunded. [54275]

§ Mr. Timms
The valuation of the Teachers' Pension Scheme is conducted on a notional basis. There are no tangible assets, but in carrying out the valuation the Government Actuary calculates what the assets of the scheme would have been if a real fund had been in existence.

§ Chris Grayling
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what happens to the money paid by teachers and employers as pension contributions if their pension fund is unfunded. [54274]

§ Mr. Timms
Contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme by teachers and their employers are paid into the Exchequer and used to defray the cost of paying benefits under the scheme.