Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of local authority powers to intervene in multi-academy trusts.

Academy trusts are directly accountable to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, through their funding agreements. The Secretary of State has a range of powers to intervene in trusts where they are not meeting their legal obligations, as well as powers to intervene in individual academies that are failing to meet the required standards. Where local authorities have concerns about the conduct of academy trusts they should raise these with the department as the body responsible for ensuring that trusts are complying with their funding agreements. The department’s ‘Schools causing concern’ guidance provides further information on the Secretary of State intervention powers, and is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/659d064e614fa20014f3aa63/Schools_causing_concern_guidance.pdf.