To ask the Minister of Education what contact his Department has had with staff of the Education Authority with regards to an agreed pay rise for the 2014-16 pay period.

The Department commissioned the information regarding the 2.2 per cent pay award, applicable from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2016, from the Education and Library Boards (ELBs) on 12 December 2014. The Department met with the ELBs on 18 December 2014 and the information required, in accordance with the Executive’s Public Sector Pay Policy, was submitted to the Department on 26 January 2015. Since then, there have been numerous contacts with the ELBs (now, the Education Authority, EA) on this matter, including 3 formal meetings, 1 in February and 2 in March 2015. Most recently, on 20 April 2015, my officials met with EA Senior Management and TUS to provide an update on progress of the pay remit business case.