The Petition of staff at John Leggott College, Scunthorpe, and Frederick Gough School, Scunthorpe,
Declares that the Petitioners note that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, along with other schemes, was reformed in 2007 to ensure sustainability and viability for the long term, declares that the Petitioners reject the Government’s claim that such schemes are unaffordable and a drain on taxpayers, further declares that the Petitioners believe that proposed changes to public sector pensions, including those of teachers, lecturers, principles and head teachers working in maintained schools, academics, independent schools and teaching colleges are unjustified and declares that the Petitioners believe that continuing Government changes to these pensions will be deeply damaging to staff recruitment, retention, mobility, morale and motivation and will jeopardise the education of all children and young people.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to withdraw its proposals on reform of teachers' pensions, and conduct a valuation of the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Nic Dakin, Official Report, 7 November 2011; Vol. 535, c. 134.]
[P000974]
The Petition of teachers in the Cynon Valley,
Declares that the Petitioners note that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, along with other schemes, was reformed in 2007 to ensure sustainability and viability for the long term, declares that the Petitioners reject the Government’s claim that such schemes are unaffordable and a drain on taxpayers, further declares that the Petitioners believe that proposed changes to public sector pensions, including those of teachers, lecturers, principles, head teachers and vice-chancellors working in maintained schools, academics, independent schools, universities and teaching colleges are unjustified and declares that the Petitioners believe that continuing Government changes to these pensions will be deeply damaging to staff recruitment, retention, mobility, morale and motivation and will jeopardise the education of all children and young people.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to withdraw its proposals on reform of teachers’ pensions, and conduct a valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Ann Clwyd, Official Report, 22 November 2011; Vol. 536, c. 2P.]
[P000985]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Education:
The cost of public service pensions has increased dramatically because people are living longer, on average ten years longer than in the 1970s. This means that the cost of providing public service pension schemes such as the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is increasing. That is why the Government commissioned Lord Hutton to undertake an independent review of pension provision in the public service and to make recommendations about how such pensions can be made sustainable and affordable, whilst remaining fair to the workforce and the taxpayer.
In his final report, published in March 2011, Lord Hutton recommended changes to public service pension schemes. In making his recommendations Lord Hutton considered carefully previous public service pension reforms (in 2007 in the case of the TPS) but concluded that further reform is needed to ensure the long term fairness, affordability and sustainability of public service pension schemes. The Government accepted Lord Hutton’s recommendations as the basis for consultation and Ministers have been meeting constructively with trade unions and other representative bodies to discuss proposals for reform.
On 20 December the Secretary of State made a Written Ministerial Statement confirming the outcome of discussions with teacher unions on reform of the TPS. The statement set out the core parameters for the design of a reformed TPS, to be introduced in 2015. Unions are now expected to take the outline reformed scheme design to their Executives for agreement, consulting members as appropriate.
Scheme valuations are dependent on assumptions about the value of future costs, design of benefits and many other factors. Many of these are being considered further in the context of the core design for a reformed TPS announced on 20 December. The Government have therefore decided that it would not be a sensible use of public funds to undertake costly actuarial valuations at this stage.
The reformed TPS will remain one of the best available. It is a valuable part of the remuneration package available to teachers and will continue to play an important role in recruiting and retaining teachers. The Government are committed to agreeing a set of reforms that will not only sustain high quality pension provision for teachers in the long term, but that also reflects the distinctive nature of the profession.