Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many multi-academy trusts have collapsed since the introduction of such trusts.

The department’s latest records show that no academy trust has collapsed. Where there is a risk to public funds, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will intervene in a proportionate manner to avoid financial issues affecting school provision.

The ESFA has a robust intervention strategy to support an academy trust, which is a company limited by guarantee and subject to company law, to reach a stronger financial position. Intervention actions range from supporting and building trust capacity through to issuing a Financial Notice to Improve, or in the most serious cases, terminating a funding agreement after schools have been transferred to another trust.