Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department uses to determine when to intervene in a Multi-Academy Trust experiencing financial difficulty; and what steps she is taking to hold trust leadership and trustees accountable for financial mismanagement.

Academy trusts play a central role in our education system, but accountability hasn’t kept pace with their growth. The government is delivering on its manifesto commitment by legislating to introduce Ofsted inspection of academy trusts, and intervention powers for the Secretary of State where inspection identifies that a trust is failing.

The department’s published guidance on Financial Support and Oversight for Academy Trusts sits alongside the Academy Trust Handbook and sets out the regulatory approach for the sector and how the department will engage with trusts in financial difficulty. Both of these documents can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-support-and-oversight-for-academy-trusts/financial-support-and-oversight-for-academy-trusts-guidance, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025.

Where there are concerns about the financial compliance or governance of a trust, the department will intervene and can issue a notice to improve setting conditions that the trust must meet to address concerns and avoid further action. The Secretary of State also has the power to terminate a trust's funding agreement in the most serious cases.