Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing multi-academy trusts to be registered as charities rather than exempt charities.

There are no current plans to review the charity status of academy trusts. All academy trusts are exempt charities under paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 to the Charities Act 2011. Exempt charities benefit from the same tax advantages as registered charities and have the same obligations to comply with tax and charity law.

Further information about how academy trusts operate as exempt charities can be found in the department’s advice on ‘exempt charities and the role of the Secretary of State as Principal Regulator’ on GOV.UK, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7b935aed915d4147621457/Academies_as_exempt_charities_FINAL3.pdf.

The department requires a high level of accountability and transparency of all academy trusts. Their status as companies, charities and public sector bodies means they are all subject to rigorous accountability systems.