Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the rising cost of living on teachers in north Hampshire; and whether he plans for the Education and Skills Funding Agency to conduct a review of the areas classed as London fringe.

Schools will benefit from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. This will reduce how much schools need to spend on their energy, and give schools greater certainty over their budgets through the winter months. The Department knows that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their Local Authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

The 2022/23 pay awards should be viewed in parallel with the Government’s £37 billion package of support for the Cost of Living, which is targeted to those most in need. The Government has also taken action to limit energy bills for households through the Energy Price Guarantee. The typical household, which had been facing forecast bills of £6,000, can now expect to pay £2,500 per year for average usage.

Decisions on pay ranges are based on recommendations by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), the independent body that advises on teachers’ pay and conditions.

The geographical areas covered by the different ranges were defined some years ago to reflect a practical approach to compensate teachers working in London, and the STRB has not recommended any changes since then, although the Department will consider these issues in the future.

Pay awards must strike a careful balance, recognising the vital importance of teachers and other public sector workers, whilst delivering value for the taxpayer. The Department has implemented the STRB’s recommendation of an 8.9% uplift to starting salaries outside London in the 2022/23 academic year, keeping the Department on track for delivering its manifesto commitment of a £30,000 starting salary. The Department has implemented the STRB’s recommendation of a 5% pay uplift for experienced teachers and leaders in the 2022/23 academic year. This award constituted the highest pay award for experienced teachers in 30 years.