Teachers to get inner-city 'danger money'

Teachers are to be offered bonuses to work in difficult inner-city schools as part of the Chancellor's move to close the gap between rich and poor in his forthcoming review of spending on the public services.

Whitehall sources denied the cash would be "danger money", but the higher pay for some teachers could cause a rift with the unions, which have been demanding across-the-board rises for all.

There could be disputes over which schools qualify for the bonuses, and some teachers in schools in the suburbs will claim that they are facing the same difficulties as colleagues in the nearby inner cities.

There was an outcry from the teachers' unions when David Blunkett, the former Secretary of State for Education, announced the introduction of higher pay to recruit top head teachers.

Some heads can now earn £70,000 a year, but most teachers are paid far less and were given an across-the-board increase of 3.5 per cent last April, in line with most of the public sector.

The Secretary of State for Education, Estelle Morris, will announce tomorrow that she is asking the school teachers' salary review board to look again at further measures to boost retention of teachers in London.

Ms Morris has agreed plans with the Chancellor to create 25 beacon secondary schools in London and will announce tomorrow that the capital is to get its own education policy plan, which will be published in the autumn.

Whitehall studies have shown that children in London have less chance of getting into a high-achieving school of their choice than those outside the capital. Four in 10 parents have to settle for the second choice of school for their children.

The problems faced by London schools – high numbers of ethnic minorities speaking many languages, coupled with a constantly changing population – also apply to inner cities across the country.

There may be some reluctance in Whitehall to see the change towards targeting pay in the education service. In spite of the difficulties faced by teachers in tough schools and the higher cost of living in the London, recruitment in the inner cities is not said to be a major problem.

Whitehall sources said the main difficulty was in retaining teachers once they had been hired. However, the initiative to offer higher pay to teachers working in the inner cities is being driven by Gordon Brown as part of a wider agenda for tackling poverty.

Mr Brown will present the comprehensive spending review as a plan to promote opportunity and security with a warning that the low educational and skill levels among Britain's poor are holding back the nation's economic performance.

The Chancellor's all-embracing hold on policy across Whitehall has raised the eyebrows of some of his cabinet colleagues but they are prepared to go along with his control of their budgets in return for more cash.

Mr Brown is strongly backing the controversial move by Ms Morris to improve the standards in under-performing secondary schools by encouraging diversity.

The Chancellor's social policy agenda is likely to win him more support among Labour MPs, who see his review of public spending as an opportunity for the Government to regain the initiative after months of controversy about Downing Street "spin".

The Chancellor is also planning to expand the means-tested educational main- tenance allowances worth up to £40 a week to persuade more teenagers to stay on at school at 16 until they have further education qualifications. The scheme has been piloted in schools covering a third of Britain. The full £40 will be paid only to those whose parents' gross income is below £13,000.