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 providing teachers in sixth form colleges with the same pay increases as those agreed with school teachers.

The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE), including in sixth form colleges. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.

The department recognises the vital role that teachers in sixth form colleges, as well as other FE colleges, play in developing the skills needed to drive the government’s missions to improve opportunity and economic growth. That is why the department is investing around £600 million across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas, including in sixth form colleges. The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through the Taking Teaching Further programme.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a Budget on 30 October to be followed by a multi-year spending review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.