The Department said that it remained committed to the £30,000 starting salary for teachers. It explained that it had had to adjust the rate of progress towards this based on conversations with HM Treasury and on the wider context. It stated that pay increases in September would represent an average rise of 3.1%, but this would be significantly weighted towards starting salaries, with 5.5% going on salaries for new teachers.51 The Department said that the question of when it might implement its commitment on starting salaries could only be answered after the next Spending Review.52 Education recovery and catch-up learning