It is open to all teachers on the top of the current basic pay scale to apply to cross the threshold.

About 250,000 teachers in England qualify on that basis, and 197,000 applied by the deadline.

In Wales about 15,600 are eligible - the deadline for their applications is March 2001.

The next big question will be how many of those who have applied will succeed in getting the rise.

The School Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, was asked about this when she answered questions from delegates at the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in April.

What teachers are suspicious of is that the funding for the changes is not open-ended - there is �1bn available over the first two years - so there must be a quota.

"There is no quota," she said.

"Some 240,000 people are at Point 9 (top of the basic pay scale) so we know that's the maximum who can apply.

"I don't think they all will apply, and I don't think they all will go through."

The Department for Education says there are about 10,000 teachers in "non-standard" roles who are also eligible - for example, employed directly by local education authorities rather than on the staff of a school.

Moves have begun to extend the concept to the further education sector, starting with sixth form college teachers in 2001.