§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what efforts he is making to ensure that schools in Northern Ireland give priority to offering supply teaching vacancies to young unemployed qualified teachers. [88076]
§ Jane KennedyThe recruitment of substitute teachers is the responsibility of teachers' employers. Employers are encouraged to give preference to newly qualified teachers and experienced non-retired teachers who are seeking employment. Retired teachers should only be re-employed to provide short-term cover where newly qualified teachers or experienced non-retired teachers unavailable. Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's (DETI) statistics for February 2002 (the latest month for which statistics are available) indicate there were only three teachers under 25 years of age registered as unemployed for more than six months.
Capping of the levels of the central reimbursement of the costs of substitute cover also provides an incentive for schools to employ newly qualified teachers as substitutes.