Schools in England struggling to recruit teachers are spending £1.3bn per year on supply staff, an increase of more than a quarter over two years, says the Labour Party. Shadow education secretary Lucy Powell says schools face "chronic shortages" of teachers and blamed the government for "talking down the profession". Last week head teachers warned MPs of deepening recruitment problems. The Department for Education said Labour's claims were "misleading". "The number and quality of teachers is at … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2015
Heads warn MPs of teacher shortage
Schools in England face a deepening problem in recruiting enough teachers, head teachers are warning. The National Association of Head Teachers said 59% of schools advertising for teachers "struggled" to get applicants and a further 20% failed completely to appoint anyone. Russell Hobby, leader of the NAHT, said it was clear evidence of a "crisis". But the Department for Education said the number of teachers now stood "at an all-time high". Labour said it was "time the government shook … [Read more...]
Travel and subsistence expenses changes from April 2016
Following on from yesterday’s Finance Bill 2016, we now know that the Government has ignored the widespread warnings issued by industry bodies and has pushed ahead with its plans to cut travel and subsistence expenses for contractors, from April 2016, which, were as we expected. The main changes are as follows: • T&S expenses will not qualify for tax relief on “ordinary commuting” type expenses where an intermediary is involved unless the worker is not subject to (or the right of) … [Read more...]
Threat to public services posed by T&S changes highlighted by MPs
The threat posed to public services by cuts to contractor expenses has been highlighted in the House of Commons. Labour MP, Sir Alan Meale, described the attack on travel and subsistence expenses as “short-sighted” in an Early Day Motion (EDM). He was one of a raft of MPs contacted by constituents as part of trade body PRISM’s Yes2T&S campaign, devised to defeat the Chancellor’s proposals. Sir Alan, MP for Mansfield, tabled a motion calling for the consequences of the policy to be … [Read more...]