Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is providing additional (a) financial and (b) other support to supply teachers who have been adversely affected by the closure of schools as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

State funded schools continued to receive their budgets as usual last academic year, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure. This ensured that they were able to continue to pay their staff and meet their other regular financial commitments.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the guidance made clear that schools should continue to pay any directly hired staff, including supply staff, as normal.

Schools were also advised to support financially at-risk employment agencies, with whom they had existing agreements, to ensure these agencies could continue to pay their workers where assignments had been curtailed. Supply teachers employed by private agencies who were not on a live assignment, or who were unable to source new assignments, were able to access financial support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Now that schools are?fully reopen?for?all pupils, we?anticipate the demand for supply teachers?to?return to normal.