§ Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are his plans for recognition of schools as schools of exceptional difficulty at which a £75 salary addition is to be paid to qualified teachers under section SS of the 1967 primary and secondary schools salaries document.
§ Mr. Edward ShortI have examined in detail the lists of schools recommended to me by local education authorities for recognition. Although I know that authorities have tried with great care to apply fairly the criteria laid down by the Burnham Committee, I have reached the conclusion that I cannot, without creating serious anomalies which would be difficult to explain or defend, make a selection from among a large number of schools whose claims for recognition appear to be comparable. I have therefore asked the Committee if in these circumsances they would wish to see whether they can devise any other approach, with prospects of a fairer result, to the problem of making money available to create incentives for teachers to serve in schools of exceptional difficulty within the total provision of £400,000 a year which they have set aside for this purpose.