Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to fund pay increases above the one per cent pay cap for (a) teachers and (b) school support staff in 2018-19.

The Department will shortly publish evidence on the affordability of increases to teachers’ pay as part of the Department’s input to the School Teachers’ Review Body consideration of teachers’ pay for 2018/19. Support staff pay is negotiated by local authorities and academies.

In July 2017, the Department announced an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools budget set at Spending Review 2015. This means funding per pupil for schools and high needs will be maintained in real terms for the next two years. Alongside our substantial investment, the Department is committed to helping schools improve outcomes for pupils and promote social mobility by getting the best value from all of their resources