AQW 8696/22-27
Ms Kate Nicholl
Alliance Party
South Belfast
Tabled Date: 12/03/2024
Answered On Date: 15/03/2024
Priority Written: Yes
Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the cost of the formal offer on teachers’ pay made to the five main teaching unions for (a) 2021; (b) 2022; and (c) 2023; and (ii) how his Department will meet this pay uplift on a recurring basis.
Answer:
(i) The annual recurring cost of the formal offer for the teachers’ pay increase is: (a) £12.8 million for the increase with effect from 1 September 2021. (b) £64.8 million for the increase with effect from 1 September 2022. (c) £88.4 million for the increase with effect from 1 September 2023 (ii) The Finance Minister has not yet confirmed 2024-25 budget allocations, however it is clear that additional funding will be required to cover the recurring cost of this pay uplift. My department has already submitted bids to the Department of Finance which include the funding required to meet all estimated pay costs in 2024-25, including the recurring element of this pay uplift. I will continue to emphasise this issue to the Finance Minister, as I work with her and other Executive colleagues in seeking to secure the necessary funding for Education.
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