Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including further education colleges under the remit of the School Teacher Review Body from 2025-26.

Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers, but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances.

In making their recommendations for 2025/26, the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) has been asked to consider the impact of their recommendations for school teachers on the FE teaching workforce in England. The published evidence provides information and context for STRB to consider as part of this process.

The Autumn Budget 2024 set out the government’s commitment to skills, by providing an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department recognises the vital role that FE teachers and providers play in equipping learners with the opportunities and skills they need to succeed in their education. We will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.

FE institutions remain solely responsible for the pay, contractual conditions and terms of service for their workforce, and for managing their own industrial relations.