Clause 9 - Determination of pay and conditions
Education Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West, Conservative)
These significant amendments probe the heart of the Government's apparent treatment of local authorities. I am pleased to see that my hon. Friends have tabled amendments that take slightly different approaches. That is part of my strategy to attract the next defector from the Labour Benches. When that person has become fed up with overbearing Whips, he or she can come to us because we allow proper discussion in Committee.
The clause features a remarkably open-ended requirement in subsection (1)(b) that local education authorities
''shall do anything necessary to give effect to the governing body's determination under paragraph (a)''.
Paragraph (a) details the determination of pay and conditions during and after exemption. That requirement might be appropriate if the local authority agrees with the proposed variation of pay and conditions, but to impose it is strange.
Amendment No. 16 would replace the phrase ''do anything'' with the less open-ended ''take all reasonable action''. Amendment No. 37 requires ''best endeavours'' to be used, and amendment No. 71 would insert
'', other than adjust the budget of a school''.
All the amendments have the same aim. The clause empowers schools to vary pay and conditions for teachers. The Minister said that earned autonomy schools will not receive additional funds, but the clause seems to undercut that assurance. Should a governing body vary pay and conditions, possibly quite dramatically, the local education authority has a statutory duty to do ''anything necessary'' to provide for that. That duty might vary the school's budget, which is addressed by my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight in amendment No. 71.
The Minister suggested that bizarre changes to the curriculum might occur. Are bizarre changes to pay and conditions equally possible? They may be an attempt to void particular tax liabilities, or structure pay in a more attractive way. That is relevant when schools increasingly have to trawl for teaching staff overseas to fill vacancies. Pay and conditions requirements typical in other countries are not so here, and may place an unreasonable burden on the local education authority. The Minister must reassure the Committee and LEAs. Local education authorities' powers on school budgets may be seriously constrained and controlled by ministerial order.
The provision, which is very broad, places requirements on local education authorities that will have to be met using a small fraction of their current budgets. The larger portion of their budgets will be removed from their control and ring-fenced by Ministers. Local education authorities might have little discretion left with which to meet the requirements of subsection (1)(b). I am sure that the Minister will want to reassure the Committee on the matter.
If I am right to say that this is an open-ended clause, the Minister will want to make proposals to deal with it. Otherwise, he needs to reassure the Committee and those who follow its proceedings that the provision can be included elsewhere in the Bill and can be prevented from causing enormous damage to local authorities.