The education secretary has said that a decision on teacher pay for next year will be announced by the end of the month.
Bridget Phillipson accused the Conservatives and her predecessor as education secretary, Gillian Keegan, of “a complete dereliction of duty” for failing to act on the independent pay review body’s recommendations for months while they were in government.
Ms Keegan confirmed in May that a decision on next year’s teacher pay award would not be made until after the general election.
Ms Phllipson’s comments come after a report in The Times said that the independent pay review body had recommended a 5.5 per cent rise for teachers.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Ms Phillipson said that while she could not comment on this reported pay recommendation, she recognised “the absolutely crucial role that teachers and education staff play in our country”.
“We want to make sure that they are properly supported and we will have more to say by the end of the month, as Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, set out yesterday,” she said.
Tories ‘highly irresponsible’ on teacher pay
Ms Phillipson added: “The last Conservative government and the previous education secretary received this report from the teachers’ review body, sat on it, called the election and disappeared off the scene.
“It was highly irresponsible, a complete dereliction of duty, but it falls to us to set this right.”.
Speaking over the weekend, Treasury minister James Murray refused to be drawn on whether the government would implement the recommendations of the pay review bodies but said that Ms Reeves will “come to Parliament at the end of the month and set out our response in the context of the public finances and the public spending inheritance that we have in government”.
Labour will have ‘sensible’ approach to pay
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said today that the government would have a “sensible” approach to public sector pay.
Speaking at Farnborough International Airshow, the prime minister said: “We will take a sensible approach. We will consider the recommendations and make an announcement in due course.
“The chancellor is doing a full analysis of the financial constraints and challenges, and will be making announcements in due course in relation to this.”
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said a 5.5 per cent rise could cost an extra £3.5 billion for schools and the NHS alone.
But he added: “Given the long squeeze on public pay and current private earnings growth, recommendations like this shouldn’t be a surprise.”
Reacting to reports in The Times over the weekend, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders union, said it was “very disappointing to see this sort of speculation in the newspapers”.
“It is important that school leaders get accurate information from government as soon as possible so they can plan appropriately,” he added.
And Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “If the report is correct, we are pleased with the recognition that teacher pay must be improved to support recruitment and retention, as many schools are experiencing severe staff shortages.”
He added that he would be “surprised if the government did not agree to the recommendation from the independent pay review body”.
But Mr Di’Iasio said: “We also need assurance that the government will fund this pay award as school budgets are already under immense pressure and cannot bear this additional cost. We await clarification from the government regarding the recommendation and its funding plans.”
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