Headteachers working in tough inner London schools will see their salaries rise to £81,000 as part of an emergency pay package to stem the crisis in recruiting staff.

Salaries for new teachers are set to rise by nearly six per cent and experienced staff will receive a 3.7 per cent increase. The government claims that with the performance threshold increase an experienced teacher can expect to earn £26,900.

The pay deal is aimed at halting the increasing problems that schools face in recruiting staff, particularly those areas with high property prices in the south east of England.

Education secretary David Blunkett announced that wages for new graduate teachers will now start at £17,000 rising to £20,000 for those working in inner London. Schools will also be able to offer a discretionary recruitment and retention payment - or a "golden handcuffs" deal - of up to £5,000.

Making the announcement, Blunkett said: "This year's pay settlement is designed to help us in three important objectives which are a vital part of our drive to raise standards: to recruit more new teachers, retain good teachers and reward teachers. Schools have substantial extra resources this year and can choose to use direct grants to attract and retain good teachers.

"This will help schools and areas facing the greatest recruitment challenges to offer significantly better pay for specialist teachers, in particular. This is a generous settlement and combined with the changes we have made last year, it starts to make teaching a genuinely attractive profession," he said.

Doug McAvoy, NUT General Secretary, responded angrily to the announcement saying: "The Government has missed yet another chance to make teaching attractive and recruit young people into the profession. This rise will leave newly qualified teachers earning £1,600 less than they would receive outside teaching.

"The vast majority of those already in our schools will receive 3.7 per cent well below the increase in average earnings. No improvements are proposed in conditions of service to protect teachers from excessive workload and long hours."The government faces the prospect of entering the run up to a general election with more and more pupils going on to a four day week simply because schools cannot find sufficient teachers. In order to inflate the level of increase, the government resorts to double counting and adds the £2,000 threshold uplift which it welcomed 12 months ago. The government knows it is failing teachers and resorts to lies, distortion and double counting."