Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimates his Department has made of the comparable costs of the (a) recommendations of the School Teachers’ Pay Review Body that all pay and allowance ranges for teachers and school leaders are uplifted by 3.5% from September 2018 and (b) his Department's pay package introduced following the that School Teachers’ Pay Review Body report.

In July 2018, the Department accepted in full the School Teachers’ Pay Review Body (STRB) recommendation for a 3.5% uplift to the minima and maxima of the main pay range. As a result, classroom teachers will see starting salaries increasing by between £803 and £1,004. The Department also announced a substantial uplift to pay ranges for leaders and higher-paid teachers: 2% on the upper pay range and 1.5% on the leadership pay range.

This was supported by a new Teachers’ Pay Grant of £508 million over two years, covering the difference between these awards and the 1% award that schools would have anticipated under the previous public sector pay cap. This was funded using existing Department for Education resources, recognising that the pay award would have a significant impact on school budgets.

Providing an equivalent Teachers’ Pay Grant to cover the difference between a 3.5% award for all pay ranges and the previous public sector pay cap would have cost over £900m across two years.

In line with the overall government approach to pay review body recommendations across the public sector, the Department needs to balance the importance of rewarding teachers with ensuring awards are affordable and fair to the taxpayer.