§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what requirement there is for local education authorities to carry out job evaluations on non-teaching staff; what the purpose of such evaluations is; and if he will make a statement; [121762]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of staff (a) in England and (b) in Gloucestershire who will experience (i) reductions and (ii) increases in their pay in 2003–04 as a result of job evaluations; what he estimates the average amount per employee will be; and if he will make a statement; [121763]
(3) what estimate he has made of the net cost or savings of the changes in salaries of non-teaching staff following job evaluations in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [121764]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 26 June 2003]: Most local authorities, including Gloucestershire, are party to the national agreement on pay and conditions of local government staff (commonly known as the Single Status Agreement), which was negotiated by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services in 1997. The agreement commits authorities to carrying out grading reviews in accordance with equal pay legislation. This is consistent with broader government policy, which is to encourage employers to carry out pay reviews to help ensure that they meet their obligations under the legislation.
The pay of school support staff is determined at local level: the Government believe that this is the best way of ensuring a flexible system that can respond to local needs and circumstances. My Department does not hold information on the impact of job evaluations on pay either nationally or in individual local authorities.