Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that proposed agency fee caps under the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework are effectively monitored and enforced.

The new iteration of the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework removes excessive agency mark-ups through a cap on agency fees.

To ensure the cap on agency fees is effectively monitored and enforced, the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) holds responsibility for monitoring compliance to the agency fee caps, and all requirements of the framework agreement. As part of the framework terms and conditions, agencies must provide data reporting, with potential consequences of non-compliance resulting in removal from the framework agreement.

To support the GCA, the department will also keep under review and analyse spend across the sector, comparing it with the Management Information reported by suppliers to GCA through the framework.

The new framework does not affect pay for supply teachers employed through agencies. This will continue to be set by agencies in the first 12 weeks of an assignment, and supply teachers are free to register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances. The Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments exceeding 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12th week.

The current mix of supply models available in England, including agencies, direct hire and some local pools, gives schools choice over how they secure supply teachers.