§ Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the cost of the teachers' pay rise to West Sussex Education Authority. [109059]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisIn his written answer on 1 February 2000,Official Report, column 498W, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment made clear his assessment that the pay settlement would be affordable within the resources available to local authorities in 2000–01. The cost from 1 April 2000 will be 3.3 per cent., with assimilation costs of around 0.1 per cent. West Sussex will receive an increase in its Education Standard Spending Assessment of 6.11 per cent., which takes account of changes in local authority function. Its share of the £50 million special grant to support school budgets will add the equivalent of a further 0.2 per cent. to this. The rescheduling of increased employers' contributions to teachers' pensions will save the authority 0.7 per cent. of the cost of its teachers' pay bill.