Teachers set for biggest pay rise in fifteen years, government announces
Fully-qualified teachers outside of London will now start work earning a minimum of £25,714 - representing the biggest pay rise in the profession since 2005.
Teachers will enjoy the biggest pay rise “for a generation”, the government has confirmed today.
Following recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body, teacher starting salaries have been boosted by 5.5% – representing the largest pay increase for the profession since 2005.
Fully-qualified teachers outside of London will now start work earning a minimum of £25,714.
Teachers in inner London will earn at least £32,157.
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Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the government wanted to “make teaching attractive to the most talented candidates by recognising the outstanding contribution teachers make to our society.”
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He added: “Inspirational teachers change millions of lives by giving our children the drive and desire to learn, and reforms to teacher training, early career support and teachers’ pay are key to the Government’s plans to improve school standards.”
The MP also confirmed that school funding in Britain will increase by 4% overall.
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The pay rises represent the first part of a plan to push teacher starting salaries to at least £30,000 by 2022/23.
Whilst the pay increase for new teachers was welcomed by members of the sector, the National Education Union (NEU) claimed that the Government needed to do more to ensure experienced teachers remained in schools.
“…the prospect of salaries tapering off as they progress through the profession means that progress made in recruiting teachers will not be sustained in retaining them,” said Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary.
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“It is already the case that 22% of teachers leave teaching within two years.”
She added: “NEU called for a fully-funded 7% increase in September and we reiterate this call.”
This week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that more than 900,000 public service workers across the UK would receive income bumps for their “vital contribution” during the pandemic.
According to the Treasury, funding is set to be taken from existing departmental budgets.
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Government launches £442m drive to get rough sleepers off streets before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a £442m drive to get rough sleepers off the streets before Christmas.
Learning from ‘innovative’ approaches put into place during the pandemic, the Government has announced that new accommodation will be rolled out across England this winter, as well as offering practical help with housing, health, and other needs to support people to build a more stable life for themselves in the future.
The new commitment to offer everyone a route off the streets this Christmas, along with boosted funding, reflect the Andy Burnham‘s national drive to make ‘real change’ and get everyone playing their part in ending rough sleeping.
Not only will these plans change the lives of rough sleepers, but it’s also said they will have huge benefits for the country as a whole.
Research from homelessness charity Crisis suggests that by preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year, taxpayers could save around £370 million.
The Government has launched a £442m drive to get rough sleepers off the streets before Christmas / Credit: Number 10 Press Office | Jon Tyson (via Unsplash)
As well provisions to get people off the streets, and the intensive ‘wraparound’ support, the newly allocated funding will also help local areas deliver more than 1,000 ‘settled’ homes over the next three years, it has been confirmed.
Areas facing the greatest pressures will receive the largest share of support.
Working alongside councils, Mayors will play a leading role in driving local action to end rough sleeping, and will be tasked with making decisions that are right for their communities to deliver help where it’s needed most.
The Prime Minister says he ‘won’t accept’ rough sleeping any longer. He commented: “No one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station, but we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it.
“That’s why my first instruction as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping, and it’s why today we’re getting started with a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas. We did it in the pandemic, we can do it again. But it needs all of us.
“Government will put the money in, but I’m asking leaders in communities and sectors across society to play their part locally too.
“Let’s get people out the cold, and let’s bring back hope.”
Featured Image – Gary Knight (via Flickr)
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Trainline and Virgin Atlantic among companies being investigated for ‘misleading’ pricing
Emily Sergeant
A number of companies are currently under investigation for ‘misleading’ pricing practices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched three new consumer protection investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School over concerns that customers were not shown the total price upfront when buying things like train and coach tickets, holidays, or even driving lessons.
The investigations are part of a wider CMA clampdown on misleading pricing practices – in this instance, where mandatory charges are separated from the headline price, or added later in the buying process, which is known as drip pricing.
These practices leave consumers facing ‘unexpected’ costs or having to calculate the so-called true cost themselves.
Such practices can also impact competition between businesses, as a firm using drip pricing may falsely appear to be cheaper than a competitor pricing correctly, and therefore attract more customers.
Trainline and Virgin Atlantic are among the companies being investigated for ‘misleading’ pricing / Credit: Northern | Aric Cheng (via Unsplash)
Trainline is being investigated over whether all mandatory fees have been included in the upfront prices displayed to consumers buying tickets in advance on its app and website, while Virgin Atlantic’s investigation will focus on whether mandatory resort fees and local taxes have been included in the upfront prices shown to customers buying package holidays.
RED Driving School is being investigated over how a mandatory booking fee and ‘digital’ fee have been displayed to people booking driving lessons – specifically whether these fees have been included in the total upfront price.
“At a time when many households are watching every pound they spend, it is important that people are not surprised by extra fees,” commented Emma Cochrane, who is the Executive Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA.
“Clear pricing helps people compare offers confidently and choose the option that works best for them.
“Unexpected mandatory charges make this much harder, which is why the CMA initially put these firms on notice over concerns about their pricing practices and is now opening formal investigations.”
The CMA says it’s at the beginning of its investigations and has reached no conclusions about whether these firms have broken the law.
If it finds there has been an infringement of the law, the CMA can order businesses to pay compensation to affected customers or be charged up to 10% of global turnover.
The Manc -
21st July 2020 
