The government has rejected calls for a pay review body that would set equal pay for further education college staff across the country.
Responding to calls from the House of Commons education committee for a statutory pay body for FE teachers and staff, ministers said the “diversity” of colleges means a “one-size-fits-all” approach to pay “may not be appropriate”.
There is “clear value” in colleges having autonomy to set their own pay so they can respond to local labour market and skill needs, the government argued.
MPs on the education committee called for a pay review body for college staff in a wide-ranging report on further education and skills, published in September.
The committee issued more than 40 recommendations, including calling for devolution of 16-19 education, reinstatement of some level 7 apprenticeships and introducing a funding premium for disadvantaged pupils aged 16-19.
Ministers rejected the first two of these and argued that “extra funding” is already available for disadvantaged students via “disadvantage block” and English and maths funding.
The government said retaining central control ensures it can maintain a “universal education offer” for 16 to 19-year-olds which is “consistently high quality across the country”.
In response to calls for a youth guarantee that “expands eligibility” from 18 to 21 to all 16 to 24-year-olds, the government claimed measures are “already in place” through the September guarantee, Jobcentres, and adult education funding.
Review body would ensure ‘equity of pay’
One of the committee’s key concerns was the government’s approach to the ongoing teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
It recommended that the Department for Education (DfE) establish a statutory pay review body for colleges comparable to the School Teachers’ Review Body.
The body should provide “independent, evidence-based pay recommendations” to ensure “equity of pay” across the post-16 education sector, with the goal of closing the gap between college and school teachers by 2029.
In a detailed response to the committee, the government said it is “right” to highlight ongoing challenges with pay and retention, but argued that colleges are “diverse” organisations delivering a range of vocational, technical, academic and functional skills provision in a variety of settings that mean a single approach to pay “may not be appropriate”.
This diversity is reflected in “existing sectoral arrangements” such as Sixth Form Colleges Association’s voluntary binding pay recommendations agreed via the National Joint council, and the Association College’s (AoC) non-binding pay recommendations for FE colleges via the National Joint Forum.
The response added: “The range of approaches within the sector currently reflects the needs of a diverse college system, including recognising the autonomy and flexibility provided to the sector to address its needs via the 1992 Higher and Further Education Act.
“More broadly, it is important to note that the wider FE system is more complex and less uniform than in the schools sector, with provision for young people and adults taking place not only in colleges but also a range of other types of organisation, including independent training providers and local authority providers.”
The government concluded: “While there are currently no plans to establish a dedicated pay review body for FE, we will remain in dialogue with the sector to understand their views on pay arrangements.”
Officials also pointed out that it has increased funding by £800 million in the spending review period to “support colleges and other 16-19 providers to address priorities”.
Statistics also suggest FE college teacher pay increased by 6.1 per cent in 2023-24, the response added.
Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said rejection of pay review body recommendation “comes as no surprise” given the “enormous costs” that it would incur.
He added: “Our latest submission to the Schools Pay Review Body to support their consideration of the impact of school pay on colleges showed that the pay gap between school teachers and college lecturers has now widened to an unacceptable £12,000.
“This gap and similar differences with industry are making college recruitment and retention incredibly challenging, and is grossly unfair on all college staff.
“A college pay review body would not solve this, because in the end, what colleges need is better funding rates which allow them to set pay competitively compared to others.”
Your thoughts