The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has
today criticised the Department for Education for consulting on
changes to teachers’ pay for 2018-19 during the school summer
holidays.
The Government laid an Order setting new pay ranges
after consulting on recommendations made by the School Teachers’
Review Body (STRB), published on 24 July of this year. The
consultation ran for six weeks from 24 July to 3
September.
The Committee says that the scheduling of the
consultation to coincide with school summer holidays made it
difficult for the interested parties to formulate their
views. In the Committee’s view, the Department for
Education prioritised its own requirements over the needs of the
parties consulted.
Commenting, , Chairman of the
Committee, said:
“It is clear that completion of this year’s pay
review process was complicated by the need for Government to
coordinate decisions on pay awards across several Departments,
after the public sector pay cap was lifted in September
2017.
“We know that several of those who were consulted
expressed their concern about the timing of publication of the
STRB’s report and the Government’s proposed response. They argued
that it did not give schools adequate time to
prepare.
“It is hard to disagree with those views.
Cross-Government coordination takes time, but the eventual need
to involve others outside Government should be borne in mind and
factored into planning that coordination.
“The Department for Education has said that it is
working towards earlier completion of the process next
year. We urge it to do so, and to arrange any consultation
so that respondents have adequate opportunities to make their
views known.
“We find its approach this year all the more
disappointing since we criticised the timing that it set for
consultation in 2017, on the previous report from
STRB.”
Background on the School Teachers’ Pay
and Conditions Order 2018 (SI
2018/998)
On 24 July 2018, following submission of evidence
from the Department for Education and the representative bodies,
the Government laid before Parliament the STRB’s 28th report, and
a proposed response to that report. The STRB recommended a
3.5% uplift to the minima and maxima of all pay and allowance
ranges in the national pay framework. The Government
consulted on the report from 24 July to 3
September.
Following consultation, the Government have accepted
the STRB’s recommendation for a 3.5% uplift to the minima and
maxima of the main and unqualified pay ranges, while deciding to
uplift the minima and maxima of the upper and the leading
practitioner pay ranges and all allowances by 2%, and to uplift
the minimum and maximum of the leadership pay range by 1.5%. The
Order scrutinised by the Committee introduces the new pay and
allowance ranges.
