Written question asked by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Friday, 3 September 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 September 2010. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Monday, 18 October 2010 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Teachers: Qualifications

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the status of decisions relating to a teacher's professional standing made by the General Teaching Council (GTC) will be following the abolition of the GTC.

Answer: The Government are committed to maintaining an efficient and effective regulatory system for the teaching profession. Detailed arrangements are yet to be agreed, but the GTCE's decisions relating to disciplinary action against teachers will be upheld after its abolition, subject to the normal processes of appeal. The GTCE will continue to make those decisions until the point at which it is abolished. We are now in the process of considering a range of options for handling the current suite of GTCE functions, including how the regulatory and disciplinary functions should operate once the GTCE has been abolished. We will announce further details on how these functions will operate in due course and we hope to include these within new legislation later in the year.

Secondary information