Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of times a multi-academy trust has withdrawn sponsorship of agreeing in principle to sponsor a school in the last 12 months.

Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs), acting on behalf of my right hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and advised by headteacher boards, have responsibility for agreeing a suitable sponsor for a maintained school. RSCs assess suitability by considering a range of factors including: the skills and experience of key staff, the record of school improvement, financial management, geography, and any experience with similar schools or with similar pupil groups. Potential sponsors also conduct their own due diligence to make sure that they fully understand what is required to secure rapid and sustainable improvement of the school concerned. A sponsor may decide to withdraw at any stage during this process. As a result, this information is not held centrally and could only be obtained as disproportionate cost.