Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were used to determine the composition of the interim management board of the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Following the creation of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in April 2017, the governance of the agency was agreed and included a Management Board to provide strategic leadership and direction, and to challenge and advise on the overall performance of the ESFA.

In the interests of good governance, ESFA put in place interim arrangements for the Management Board whilst the public appointments process proceeded.

The criteria used were that the interim board be made up primarily of members who had served on the Education Funding Agency or Skills Funding Agency management/advisory boards. All except one were appointed through the public appointments process. An additional member was invited to take up a position temporarily, but as they have not been publically appointed, this interim appointment will be until August 2018 and aims to enable a wider breadth of membership during the period while the formal appointments are being made.

These arrangements provide the stability and expertise needed to ensure a smooth transition to the ESFA and a sound governance structure for ESFA.