Written Statement of 29 October 2003

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

  Teachers' Pension Scheme
  The Minister for School Standards (Mr. David Miliband)
  Parliamentary approval for additional resources of £45 million will be sought, prior to funding from the winter supplementary estimate process becoming available, to meet a further cash requirement for existing services (teachers' pension scheme payments), as provision for the total net cash requirement on the estimate is exhausted.
  14WS
  The teachers' pension scheme fund is managed by The Department for Education and Skills and administered under contract by Capita Business Service Ltd. The Department's funding to Capita is completed on a daily basis with the funded amount being determined by the net cash requirement for payments that Capita makes on behalf of the teachers' pension scheme.

  Cash drawn down from the consolidation fund is greater at the beginning of each month because appropriation in aid arrives too late to fund this expenditure. To enable the Department to meet its November and December funding obligations, £45 million will be required to make up the shortfall between the funding requirement and winter supplementary funding becoming available.

  Parliamentary approval for additional resources of £145 million for teachers' pensions will be sought in the winter supplementary estimate for the Department for Education and Skills. Pending that approval, expenditure estimated at £45 million will be met by repayable cash advances from the contingencies fund.