Teachers' Pay (Hansard, 6 December 1999)

§ Mrs. May
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the planned expenditure on performance-related pay for teachers over the next two years, broken down by category of expenditure, including(a) training, (b) cost of external assessors and advisers and (c) pay awards for teachers passing through the threshold. [101397]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
The Government have set aside up to £1 billion over the next two years to fund Green Paper proposals, the vast majority of which is for pay. We have announced a Standards Fund grant of £20 million in 2000–01 for introductory training for performance management and provisionally a further £8 million in 2001–02. We are considering what further training and support might be provided centrally for schools. The costs associated with this training and the external assessors and advisers will be subject to the outcome of negotiations. The Government has proposed to the STRB that teachers should receive up to £2,000 for passing the threshold. There will be no quota on threshold successes and it is not possible therefore to give a total cost in advance; this will depend upon the number of teachers who pass the threshold.

§ Mrs. May
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many applications have been received in response to his Department's advertisement for external assessors to operate under the teachers' performance-related pay scheme. [101394]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
We have received over 3,000 expressions of interest from people wishing to be an external assessor under our proposed threshold arrangements for teachers.

§ Mrs. May
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when Hay/McBer will complete its work on the threshold criteria under the teachers' performance-related pay proposals; and when he will publish the criteria. [101391]

§ Ms Estelle Morris
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has commissioned Hay/McBer to undertake research into the characteristics of effective teaching. In relation to the threshold, they will identify models of good practice which the Department will take into consideration in finalising its proposals for the threshold standards. He intends to invite views on the draft threshold standards early next year.