Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) academy trusts on increasing the level of pay above the statutory minimum wage for non-teaching staff in schools.

The government has given schools the freedom to set pay and conditions for support staff according to their own circumstances.

Local government employees, including school support staff, are covered by the National Joint Council terms and conditions, known as the Green Book. Most schools, including academies, use the local government pay scales in conjunction with the Green Book.

The pay scales are set through negotiations between the Local Government Association, which represents the employer, and local government trade unions (UNISON, Unite, and the GMB), which represent the employee. Central government does not have any formal role in these matters.

For the lowest pay scale, there has been an increase of 22% over the two years since April 2021, to £11.59 an hour. This is above the current national living wage of £10.42 an hour.