Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will commit to further funding increases to schools for (a) building improvements and (b) teacher recruitment.

Both building improvements for schools and teacher recruitment are key priorities for the Department.

The Government is providing an additional £560 million in capital funding this year to maintain and improve school buildings, on top of over £1.4 billion already allocated in 2020-21. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has also announced plans for a transformative ten-year school rebuilding programme that will benefit schools across England, starting with over £1 billion for the first 50 schools. Further details will be confirmed following the conclusion of the comprehensive spending review.

Last year, we published the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy which set out our priorities for reform and investment to ensure we continue to attract and retain recruits in the teaching profession. We have pledged to raise starting salaries for new teachers to £30,000 by September 2022, beginning with a 5.5% pay rise for new teachers in the next academic year as announced this week. Alongside investment in pay, we provide a package of financial incentives, including scholarships worth up to £28,000 and bursaries worth up to £26,000 in key secondary subjects, alongside early career retention payments totaling £6,000 in the second, third and fourth year of teaching. Additional uplifts worth up to £9,000 are available for teachers in 39 high-need local authorities.