Teachers' Pay and Conditions (Hansard, 16 February 1989)

§ Mr. Kenneth Baker

It is being published today. Its main recommendations are:

a 6 per cent. increase in the main pay scale for teachers from 1 April 1989.
a 7 per cent. increase in the value of the five rates of incentive allowances from 1 April 1989.
a 7.5 per cent. increase in the salaries of the 55,000 Heads and Deputies from 1 April 1989.
an extra 9,500 incentive allowances for the 1989–90 academic year, on top of the additional 18,000 already planned.
a 5.6 per cent. increase in London allowances from 1 July 1988.

I propose to accept the committee's recommendations in full. I am today initiating the consultation required by section 3(1) of the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Act 1987 by writing to the relevant local authority associations, teacher unions and bodies representing the interests of the governors of voluntary schools, setting out my proposals.

The text of the letter is as follows:

Teachers pay and conditions of employment

1. On 14 September 1988 I asked the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions to 320 examine and report to me on certain issues. I enclose a copy of the Committee's report which is being published today. The Committee's recommendations are summarised in Chapter 9 of its report. I propose to make an Order giving effect to the recommendations referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 below. But before I take a decision on what provision the Order should make, I invite your views. This letter therefore initiates the consultation required by Section 3(1) of the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Act 1987.
2. I propose to accept the Committee's recommendations that

(i) the salaries of all qualified teachers should be raised by a uniform 6 per cent. to the figures set out in paragraph 4.13 of the Committee's report with effect from 1 April 1989;
(ii) the salaries of unqualified teachers should be raised by the same percentage (paragraph 4.13). The allowance for teachers of the visually impaired and hearing impaired would also be increased by 6 per cent.;
(iii) the spot salaries for Heads and Deputies should be increased by 7.5 per cent. with effect from 1 April 1989 (paragraph 4.21);
(iv) the rates of the London area allowances should be increased by 5.6 per cent. with effect from 1 July 1988 (paragraph 5.16);
(v) the value of each of the incentive allowances should be increased by 7 per cent. with effect from 1 April 1989 (paragraph 4.34);
(vi) the planned number of incentive allowances should be expanded from September 1989 by 9,500 (5,000 extra A allowances; 2,500 B allowances; 1,500 C allowances and 500 D allowances): (paragraphs 4.31 and 4.32). There will need to be some consequential revisions to the limits relating to incentive allowances in Annex A to Appendix I of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 1988 (paragraph 4.33).

3. The Committee makes a number of other recommendations which would require amendments to the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 1988 (the 1988 Document):

a. that teachers returning to regular full-time or part-time teaching should be paid on re-entry at no lower point on the mainscale than when last employed as a regular full-time or part-time teacher (paragraph 5.21);
b. that, contingent upon the introduction of the proposed licensed teacher arrangements, there should be discretion for local authorities or governors, as appropriate, to pay licensed teachers at either qualified or unqualified rates (paragraph 5.26);
c. that local authorities (and, at the appropriate point, governors of schools with delegated budgets) should be given discretion to accelerate a teacher's progression to the top of the main scale (paragraph 5.29);
d. that once the necessary regulations under Section 218 of the Education Reform Act have been made, a teacher who is awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) retrospectively should be entitled to receive back pay from any authority he/she has worked for from the date from which his/her qualification runs, to make good any difference between what he/she was actually paid 321 up to the point when QTS was awarded and what he/she would have been entitled to as a qualified teacher (paragraph 5.41);
e. that the discretions over pay and conditions currently exercised by local education authorities set out in Appendix I of the report should be transferred to governing bodies of schools with budgets delegated under Chapter III of Part I of the Education Reform Act 1988 (paragraph 7.24) and that the decision on whether it is "reasonably practicable to provide a supply teacher" should transfer to the governors in those schools where the governing body have been made responsible, under the relevant LMS scheme, for managing the arrangements for providing supply teachers (paragraph 7.26);
f. that the functions, both mandatory and discretionary, currently allocated to LEAs under the 1988 Document should be allocated to governing bodies of grant maintained (GM) schools (paragraph 7.28);
g. that where a GM school was formerly a voluntary school, a head teacher should carry out his-her professional duties in accordance with any trust deed applying to the school (paragraph 7.29);
h. that salary safeguarding on a discretionary basis and discretionary safeguarding on London allowance and social priority allowance should apply in both directions between a GM school and its former maintaining authority (paragraph 7.31);
i. that the provision in relation to cover at sub paragraph 35(9)(b)(ii) of the 1988 Document should be amended in the direction of wording suggested by the Professional Association of Teachers (paragraph 8.9);
j. that the reference to payment for midday supervision at paragraph 23 of the 1988 Document should be deleted (paragraph 8.14);
k. that the reference to education legislation in the "overriding requirements" section of head teachers' conditions of employment—paragraph 27(i) of the 1988 Document—should be updated to include the Education Reform Act 1988 (paragraph 8.24);
l. that specific reference should be made in both head teachers' and school teachers' conditions of service to the Basic (including National) Curriculum, and, in the case of head teachers, to the collective worship requirements of the Education Reform Act (paragraph 8.25).

Percentage
Part of relevant income to which specified percentage applies	One assisted pupil	Each of two assisted pupils	Each of three assisted pupils
That part which exceeds £7,418 but does not exceed £8,066	9	6.75	5.25
That part (if any) which exceeds £8,066 but does not exceed £8,725	12	9.00	7.00
That part (if any) which exceeds £8,725 but does not exceed £10,032	15	11.25	8.75
That part (if any) which exceeds £10,032 but does not exceed £12,043	21	15.75	12.25
That part (if any) which exceeds £12,043 but does not exceed £14,668	24	18.00	14.00
That part (if any) which exceeds £14,668	33	24.75	19.25