03 October 2003
Clarke sweet-talks critics over teachers' pay and top-up fees
Education Secretary Charles Clarke has sought to allay the teaching unions' fears that the government intends to move to a system of regional pay agreements to tackle staff shortages.
Speaking at a fringe meeting on September 30, Clarke said he thought the argument put forward by the unions, that teachers doing similar jobs in different parts of the country should receive the same salary, had 'a great deal of worth'.
He sought to downplay the significance of the Treasury's instruction earlier this year to the professional pay review bodies to consider the need for flexible labour markets when making their recommendations.
He told the meeting that it was 'unlikely to be an issue in the short term'. But Clarke went on to say that it was a 'very tough question' that would have to be addressed in the longer term.
Peter McLaughlin, vice president of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers, told Public Finance the education secretary's comments had been 'helpful'.
But he restated the union's opposition to a regional pay structure. 'We're not opposed to a system of top-ups, but national pay bargaining remains absolutely key,' he said.
Earlier, Clarke used his conference speech to mount a staunch defence of the government's controversial plans to introduce top-up university tuition fees.
Attempting to tackle head-on accusations that the fees will put off working-class students from going to university, he repeatedly told delegates the proposals would make the funding regime more equitable.
'We are currently discussing with universities whether students from poorer families will get extra help to pay even the highest university fees. If we can achieve that, as I hope we will be able to, that will be fairer.'
Prescott 'will cap' high tax rise councils
John Prescott has given notice to local authorities that he will not flinch from capping them if they have 'the cheek' to hike up council tax bills next year.
The deputy prime minister told the plenary session on local government on September 29 that he would use his reserve powers in a 'targeted' way next year to thwart any councils that try to push through 'unreasonably large' tax rises.
Prescott's comments, which follow the get-tough stance that Nick Raynsford took last month, are a clear signal that the government will not tolerate a repeat of the inflation-busting increases, averaging 12.9%, seen this year.
He pledged to keep an especially close eye on the activities of authorities facing elections, to see whether tax cuts, which he termed 'pre-election gimmicks', are followed by hikes the year after.
'I know there are many long-term funding issues that need to be addressed, including the level of precepts and revaluation and rebanding of properties. These are all difficult issues that need to be looked at objectively and not turned into another political football,' Prescott added.
To emphasise that the government would not respond sympathetically to authorities that justified big increases by pleading poverty, he reminded delegates that local government funding had increased by 25% in real terms since 1997.
'The recent large rises in council tax and precepts, in some cases 40% or 50%, are simply not sustainable. Some councils have the cheek, and yes I call it cheek, to hike up their council tax after receiving large grant increases, and then blame the government.'
There was an argument for reconsidering the balance of funding between central and local government, Prescott said. But the extra money and the new freedoms and flexibilities that authorities will enjoy from next year bring with them greater responsibility, he said.
Sir Jeremy Beecham, chair of the Local Government Association, immediately hit back, saying Prescott's capping threat was 'yesterday's agenda'.
He added: 'We need to work together to create a council funding system that we can all believe in.'
- Commons' leader Peter Hain has said the success of the government's 'new localism' policy depends upon a willingness by politicians and the public to abandon a uniform approach to service provision. Hain told a New Local Government Network fringe meeting that frontline organisations needed greater flexibility to address local priorities. But he warned: 'If we embrace localism we will have to accept that things are done differently in different places.'
- Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has urged the government to ensure that Agenda for Change is backed by sufficient resources. Malone told a fringe meeting that there was widespread support for the agenda among health workers, but also unease over whether the NHS had the money to fund it. 'We are at the crossroads of getting the agreement implemented,' she added.
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