Teachers' agency in permit battle

A judge has ordered the Home Office to justify a rule change on work permits, after a teacher recruitment agency said it threatens to deepen the staffing crisis in London schools.

TimePlan, an agency supplying foreign teachers to short-staffed London schools, is seeking a judicial review of the rules - which mean it can no longer offer long-term contracts to teachers.

It says hundreds of staff recruited for the next school year from America, South Africa and Europe are now unlikely to come.

TimePlan and two other agencies travelled abroad for more than a year signing up teachers. They were allowed by the Home Office to apply for work permits for a year or more.

But Work Permits UK, a Home Office agency, changed the rules this month saying that new work permits should expire in August 2002.

TimePlan objected that this put an end to recruitment for the new term. A High Court judge has asked the Home Office to give reasons for the rule change and is expected to decide next week whether to allow TimePlan a judicial review of its decision.