HC Deb 12 June 1990 vol 174 cc174-5W
32. Mr. Gerald Bowden

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to improve teacher recruitment and retention in London and in the south-east.

Mrs. Rumbold

On 11 April my right hon. Friend announced a 7 per cent. increase by 1993 in the number of places available for initial training courses in England and Wales. Within that increase, he has asked the funding councils to take account of the recruitment difficulties faced by primary schools in the south-east of England and to increase the number of places available in that area.

My right hon. Friend has accepted the recommendations of the interim advisory committee which will allow substantial pay increases for teachers, an 8.8 per cent. increase in the London weighting allowance with a discretionary supplement of £750 for inner London and give LEAs and governing bodies greater flexibility on pay. He is providing funds through education support grant and the local education authority training grants scheme to encourage local education authorities, as the employers of teachers, to introduce flexible and innovative recruitment and retention packages.

We have already announced an increase in the bursary paid to students on initial training courses in shortage subjects; in March we provided £182,000 for a London recruitment campaign and we recently launched a national advertising campaign. We will continue to support and extend the measures we have taken since 1986 to combat teacher shortage.

48. Miss Emma Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received since the launch of the "Teaching Brings Out the Best in People" campaign; and if he will make a statement.

49. Mr. Favell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made since the launch of the "Teaching Brings Out the Best in People" campaign.

Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what impact so far has been made by the "Teaching Brings Out the Best in People" campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Rumbold

Since the teacher recruitment advertising campaign was launched on 16 May, over 13,000 requests have been received from people seeking information about teaching as a career in response to the advertisements.

66. Mr. Rogers

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to recruit more graduates into the teaching profession.

71. Mr. Eastham

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to recruit more graduates into the teaching profession.

Mrs. Rumbold

On 12 March my right hon. Friend announced an extension of the bursary scheme for students on initial teacher training courses in shortage subjects to modern foreign languages; the bursary will be increased to £1,500 for students on courses in maths, CDT and technology, chemistry and modern foreign languages and to £2,000 for students on physics courses. The changes apply from September 1990.

In addition, my right hon. Friend is matching generous industrial sponsorship with £40,000 funding to support a paid work experience scheme for undergraduates run by the teaching as a career unit.

It is proposed that the first of the graduates taking part in the pilot for the articled teacher route into teaching will begin training in September.

We shall continue to support teacher taster courses for mature people, including graduates, who wish to switch careers.