Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to increase pay in the further education sector.

The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE), and the FE sector does not have a Pay Review Body (PRB). Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers and are free to implement their own pay arrangements.

The department will continue with its plans to invest in FE teachers, as part of approximately £600 million funding across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, including targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 for eligible early career FE teachers.

This government will consider the important contribution of non-PRB workforces, including FE, and will consider workforce sufficiency and what this might mean for FE funding in future years, as part of the Spending Review.