§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the information published in Statistical Bulletin 24/93 regarding teachers' responsibilities and pay scales, tables 9 to 12 and paragraphs 16 to 24, in order to identify whether women teachers in secondary schools which were grant maintained at the time of the survey appear to have had promotion prospects better than, the same as, or worse than women teachers in otherwise comparable local authority schools; what factors other than differences in experience and career break patterns account for any observed differences in pay scales between men and women teachers in grant-maintained schools; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThere are only relatively few self-governing grant-maintained schools in this survey, and they may not necessarily be representative of self-governing schools as a whole in this respect. However, the survey data show that women had a somewhat higher proportion of senior posts in these schools than in secondary schools as a whole.
§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his policy towards the promotion of equal opportunities for teachers employed in grant-maintained schools; and what arrangements he has made for monitoring known or possible inequalities between men and women teachers regarding their responsibilities and pay.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe governing bodies of self-governing grant-maintained schools must comply with the provisions of equal opportunities legislation which apply to them as employers. There are no specific arrangements for monitoring inequalities between men and women teachers: however, the Department collects and publishes statistical data on teachers' pay scales and positions of responsibility from time to time, and the School Teachers Review Body may examine such aspects of teachers' conditions of employment if it sees fit.
§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what goals he has set for the employment of women teachers in posts of responsibility in grant-maintained schools; what relevant advice or guidance he has given to the governing bodies of grant-maintained schools; and what progress is being made towards his goals.
§ Mr. Robin SquireIt is not for my right hon. Friend to set such goals; appointments of teachers to posts of responsibility are a matter for the governing body of the school. The Department's guide on education law for governors of self-governing grant-maintained schools refers to the requirements of equal opportunities legislation.