Funding

last updated:March 2010

Why teachers pay a fee
The GTC's activities are funded almost entirely by teachers' registration fees.

Like other professions, teachers are required to be registered to demonstrate that they are qualified and of good standing. Registration requires the payment of an annual fee.

The Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (section 4(4)) and The General Teaching Council for England (Registration of Teachers) Regulations 2000 (section 9) provide the legal basis for the Council to charge a registration fee.

The fee enables the GTC to operate as an independent professional body, as it is not dependent on government funding.

How we spend the fee
The GTC carefully manages its expenditure, ensuring that it operates efficiently and achieves overall value for money. Full details of the activities we plan to carry out in the coming three years are set out in our Corporate Plan.

The GTC's Annual Report explains in detail, after the end of the financial year, the work we have carried out and how we used the income we received.

The GTC's financial statements are audited by the National Audit Office and are available on this website from late July each year.

GTC budget 2009-10

• Registration: £4.4m
• Communications - £3.7m
• Regulation: £3.6m
• Governance, fee collection and administration: £3.5m
• Networks and the Teacher Learning Academy: £3.4m
• Policy and research: £2.5m