Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of suspending the teacher pensions abatement threshold during the covid-19 outbreak.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Our latest guidance on for schools and other educational settings is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

Whilst education is a devolved matter, colleagues at the Scottish Public Pensions Agency have confirmed that, in line with the England and Wales scheme, they will consider the effect of abatement as part of any response to COVID-19 should a need emerge. These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.