Labour’s flagship pledge to provide 6,500 new teachers funded by private school VAT ‘lacks a coherent plan’, MPs have warned.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it is ‘unclear’ how meeting this pledge will ensure there are enough teachers in the right areas.
Their report said the Department for Education (DfE) has given ‘no clear explanation’ of how the pledge was calculated or how it will fill gaps.
And it said: ‘It is worrying the Department does not have a clear baseline or milestones against which to measure progress and be held accountable over the coming years.’
The report is likely to fuel anger from private school parents, who have been paying 20 per cent VAT on fees since January.
Ministers have repeatedly insisted the tax is necessary to fund 6,500 new teachers for state schools and other improvements.
However, the plan has become increasingly unclear, with the DfE saying earlier this year the pledge would not apply to primary schools.
And during last month’s spending review, Keir Starmer revealed on Twitter that the VAT money may even be siphoned off to pay for housing.
During the election campaign, Labour pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 new teachers over the course of its five-year parliamentary term.
In its report, the PAC said the Government lacks suitable targets and sufficient evidence of what works to improve teacher recruitment and retention.
Colleges alone need 12,400 more teachers by 2028/29, it added.
The report said workload is cited as the top reason for teachers leaving their jobs, and pupil behaviour is ‘an escalating challenge’.
It said teacher vacancies and the challenges of retaining experienced teachers are ‘greater for schools in deprived areas’.
In May, the Government announced a 4 per cent pay increase for teacher from September.
PAC member Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP, said: ‘The DfE told us that teaching quality makes more of a difference than teacher quantity.
‘As reassuring arguments go, this seems difficult to believe when faced with the absence of any kind of teaching at all in certain subjects, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas.
‘The shortfalls laid out in our report show how urgent it is that DfE lay out the detail behind its pledge for 6,500 more teachers.’
The committee called on ministers to examine working conditions, flexible arrangements and increased pay to encourage more people to become teachers.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: ‘We share the concerns about the lack of clarity over the government’s pledge to deliver 6,500 new teachers.
‘This does not seem anything like enough to address future need and we would urge ministers to address actual teacher shortages rather than fixate on a figure which is largely meaningless.
‘The rising number of teachers leaving the profession because of pupil behaviour is also a major cause of concern.
‘We hear from school and college leaders on a regular basis over just how challenging this issue has become in recent years.’
A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘This government is already delivering on our pledge to recruit and retain 6,500 more talented teachers with 2,300 more secondary and special schoolteachers in classrooms this year, as well as 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the profession – one of the lowest leave rates since 2010.
‘Since day one, the Education Secretary has worked to reset the relationship with the education sector, announcing pay awards of almost 10 per cent over two years and committed to tackle high workload and poor wellbeing including encouraging schools to offer more flexible working opportunities.
‘We are committed to working with teachers as partners in the push for better, driving high and rising standards through our Plan for Change to enable every child to achieve and thrive.’