Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria will be used to assess proposals by academy chains planning to outsource all non-teaching posts to profit-making providers.

The criteria that all academy trusts must adhere to in conducting their financial affairs are set out in the Academies Financial Handbook, which can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook

Paragraph 1.5.21 of the handbook explains that the accounting officer of a trust must ensure that the trust’s financial conduct is regular, proper and represents good value for money. In addition, paragraph 3.3.1 of the handbook explains that all novel and/or contentious transactions must be referred to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) for prior authorisation.

In the case of a novel and/or contentious transaction, the EFA would always seek strong assurance from the trust that its proposal represented excellent value for money and that there was no risk of irregularity or impropriety. If there were any doubt about a trust’s ability to provide this assurance, authorisation would not be granted.