Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 117426, Teachers: Pay, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of binding collective bargaining arrangements in further education.

Colleges have the autonomy to set their own teacher pay as it enables them to respond directly to local labour market and skills needs, alongside their own particular specialisation and priorities.

In addition, there are pre-existing sector-led arrangements for pay in general further education (FE) colleges through their National Joint Forum. There are no plans at present to review existing sectoral pay arrangements.

Our priority remains ensuring we have a prestigious and specialist further education system that delivers high-quality education and training for all as set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.

FE teachers are central to delivering high-quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million for colleges and other 16 to 19 providers for financial year 2025/26. This was broadly equivalent to the funding provided to support the pay award in schools. We are providing nearly £9 billion in 16 to19 programme funding for academic year 2026/27 supporting colleges to address pressures, including supporting recruitment and retention of excellent specialist teachers.

Our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.

New analysis of teacher pension scheme data suggests first‑year retention in general FE colleges continues to improve, from 70% to 75% for teachers who started in academic years 2021/22 and 2023/24 respectively. Attrition has also fallen for two consecutive years, suggesting a stabilising workforce.