§ Mr. DjanoglyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to restore the pay differential between school teachers and lecturers in further education. [6109]
§ Margaret HodgeIt is for each college to agree annual pay rises and conditions of employment with its staff in the context of the overall resources available to them. We are, however, aware of the funding gap between schools and FE and have pledged to bring up levels of funding and allow upwards convergence over time.
This year alone an additional £527 million is available for FE, a 4 per cent. real terms increase on last year. Funding will increase again next year by a further 3 per cent. This compares with the period between 1993–94 and 1996–97 when FE funding per FTE student fell by 12 per cent. in real terms.
As part of the planned increases, we are investing £300 million in the Teaching Pay Initiative over the next three years to allow colleges, including sixth form colleges, to reward high quality teaching. This is separate to any general pay rise a teacher may receive.