She is more of an all-rounder than Estelle Morris , a former teacher who looks like a girl guide but is as tough as an old blackboard and has done a good job of taking on the teachers' unions as a minister in the Department of Education and Employment.

ECONOMIST: The queue for the cabinet

But the push was also helped along by a deep recession that sapped other employment alternatives for teachers and forced the Department of Education to drastically reduce hiring people who are new to the profession.

WSJ: Data Shows Teachers Stay in Job Longer

The consultation follows a formal review, commissioned by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and the Department of Education, of whether the scheme is meeting its original objectives.

BBC: Teenagers