Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the affordability of the forthcoming increase in contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme for (a) state-maintained schools, (b) independent institutions and (c) further education colleges and universities.

Department officials have discussed the changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme with all education trade unions and a number of employer representatives. Discussions with these groups will continue through the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Advisory Board.

The Department is also launching a consultation in early 2019 to seek views on the impact of the changes to employer contribution costs on state-funded schools, independent schools, further education (FE) colleges and other public-funded training organisations, and universities and other Higher Education institutions (HEI) in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, including which sectors should receive additional funding from the Government. Once the consultation has closed, the Department will make an assessment on the viability of the scheme and the number of institutions participating in the scheme.

The Department estimates the total cost of increased employer contributions into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme to be £1.1 billion in 2019-20. This is broken down as follows: £830 million for state-funded schools, £110 million for Independent schools, £80 million for the further education sector, and £80 million for affected universities and other HEIs.