Recommendation 62

HM Government · verbatim extract Rejected

NOT TAKEN FORWARD We welcome the final report of the ESC and appreciate the committee’s interest in funding for pay and pay arrangements in further education (FE). It is right to highlight the ongoing challenges the sector faces in relation to teacher pay, recruitment and retention. The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out the government’s commitment to a prestigious FE sector, underscored by high quality teaching, which drives economic growth, builds national capacity and delivers regional impact. FE teachers are critical to this vision, breaking down barriers to opportunity for learners from all backgrounds, and delivering the skills they need to succeed in their education and to drive growth in our economy. We note the committee’s comments on the pay gap between school and college teachers. FE colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. However, we are committed to supporting the sector in addressing their key priorities, including staffing. That is why, in May 2025, the department announced a further £190 million investment for colleges and other 16–19 providers in addition to the £400 million of extra funding we already planned to spend on 16–19 education in financial year 2025–26. In October 2025, we announced plans to go further in financial year 2026–27. From the Spending Review settlement, we will invest nearly £800 million extra on top of the original £400 million announced in 2025/26. These significant investments will support colleges and other 16–19 providers to address priorities, including recruitment and retention, now and in the future. We know that the sector works to maximise the funding that they receive to support recruitment and retention. According to the latest published statistics, the average salary for teachers in FE colleges increased by 6.1% in academic year 2023/24. The government is also taking important steps to support FE teacher recruitment and retention, including our commitment to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers across colleges, mainstream secondary, and special schools over the course of this Parliament. Targeted retention incentive payments give eligible early career teachers in priority STEM and technical shortage subjects at all FE colleges up to £6,000 after tax annually. This includes building and construction, computing and engineering and manufacturing among others. In addition, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out that FE teachers will be supported by a high-quality professional development offer, including establishing a coherent, career-long development pathway, from initial training through to leadership. It makes clear our intention to continue to provide support for new FE teachers, including career changers, via initial teacher education bursaries as well as our Taking Teaching Further programme. It further sets out our plan to extend the Teaching Vacancy Service to FE, making it easier for providers to connect with and recruit expert candidates. The government funds the FE sector based on the programmes it delivers and the number and needs of its learners. All 16–19 provision, whether delivered in schools or colleges, is funded using the same formula. This takes account of the cost of particular courses in how we fund provision. This is especially important when considering technical courses which can be more expensive to run, and which are often run by colleges rather than schools. To support these different delivery models, we provide additional funding through programme cost weightings. The extra weighting for high-cost provision built into the funding system can help providers to meet the higher costs of recruiting and retaining teachers in these subject areas. We appreciate the Committee’s interest in FE pay arrangements. There is clear value in colleges having the autonomy to set their own teacher pay as it enables them to respond directly to local labour market and skills needs. As key contributors to local economic development, colleges are well-placed to support workforce planning and delivery–particularly through alignment with Local Skills Improvement Plans. Locally responsive pay decisions strengthen their ability to meet employer needs and deliver the skills that drive regional growth. Colleges themselves are also diverse organisations delivering a range of vocational, technical, academic and functional skills provision to both young people and adults in a variety of settings. This diversity means a one-size-fits-all approach to pay may not be appropriate. In addition, there are already existing sectoral arrangements for college pay within the FE sector. In general FE colleges, pay discussions via the National Joint Forum result in a non-binding pay recommendation from the Association of Colleges to support colleges in their local decision making, while retaining flexibility for them to address their individual circumstance. For Sixth Form Colleges, where th