§ Mr. Maloneasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to establish a permanent independent review body for teachers' pay and conditions conditional upon teachers accepting a no strike agreement and a package of pay and conditions for the ensuing year negotiated through the statutory negotiating machinery.
§ Mr. Allan StewartMy right hon. Friend and I would of course be pleased to examine any package on pay and 407W conditions of service from the Scottish joint negotiating committee for teaching staff in school education which included a no strike agreement. I understand that at least one teachers union would be prepared to discuss positively a no-strike agreement. But there seems no prospect that the largest union, the Educational Institute for Scotland which has pursued a policy of targetting strikes on constituencies represented by my right hon. and hon. Friends, would be prepared to consent to such an agreement. I see no case to change the existing statutory arrangements for determining teachers' salaries and conditions of service.