To ask the Secretary of State for Education

(1) how many and what proportion of (a) teachers and (b) support staff employed by schools and other education establishments in Colchester constituency will have their pay frozen as a result of the decision to freeze the wages of public sector workers;

(2) how many and what proportion of (a) teachers and (b) support staff employed by local education authorities will have their pay frozen as a result of the decision to freeze the wages of public sector workers.

holding answer 28 June 2010

The Department does not hold this information.

The Government have announced a two year pay freeze for public sector workers. For teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales this will take effect from September 2011 for two years. The Secretary of State announced on 22 June 2010 that teachers' pay will be increased by 2.3% from 1 September 2010. The minimum salary of a newly qualified teacher in England and Wales from 1 September 2010 will be £21,588. This exceeds the threshold of £21,000 above which the public sector pay freeze will start as announced in the emergency Budget on 22 June.

There is no central mechanism for deciding the pay of school support staff, with employers having responsibility for determining salaries at local level. That responsibility rests with individual local authorities as the legal employer of support staff in community and voluntary controlled schools, and the governing body in foundation and voluntary aided schools.