Teachers (Hansard, 13 February 2004)

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether teachers employed under Schedule 2 of SI 2003 No.1663 are required to register with the General Teaching Council for England; and if he will make a statement. [154929]

§ Mr. Miliband
All teachers with qualified teacher status who are employed in maintained and non-maintained special schools in England are required to register with the General Teaching Council for England. None of the persons referred to in Schedule 2 to The Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2003 are qualified teachers and so are not eligible to register with the Council. The Education Act 2002 provides for a new category of provisional registration which by regulation can be applied to teachers who are not qualified and can be made compulsory. These provisions are not yet in force.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the local education authorities where the number of unqualified teachers employed in January 2003 was greater than in January 1998. [154930]

§ Mr. Miliband
The number of full-time equivalent regular teachers without Qualified Teacher Status rose in all local education authorities in England between January 1998 and January 2003. Over the same period, the number of full-time equivalent regular teachers with Qualified Teacher Status also rose in all local education authorities except the City of London.

§ Mr. Willis
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the General Teaching Council for England can discipline a teacher who has not paid its subscription; and if he will make a statement. [154931]

§ Mr. Miliband
The General Teaching Council has two sets of powers in relation to non-payment of the registration fee. It can remove a teacher's name from the register which would prevent the teacher from teaching in a maintained or non-maintained special school. However, the Council also has powers to require an employer to deduct the fee from a teacher's salary. Its policy is to use these powers wherever possible, providing it holds employment data on the teacher.