Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which organisations her Department consulted before deciding to establish a mandatory Management Information System procurement framework; and how those consultees were selected.

The department is undertaking a formal procurement process in compliance with the Procurement Act 2023. We are currently in preliminary market engagement, and the proposed lots and award criteria have been discussed with suppliers as part of the engagement process. It is not possible to publish a supplier list when the framework is not yet established, This will be published once the procurement process comes to end, estimated to be Summer 2027.

Both the sector and suppliers have had opportunity to comment on the department’s proposals for the framework since the Preliminary Market Engagement Notice was published on 22 October 2025 including the creation of a sector working group, various engagement sessions with sector representative groups, multiple supplier webinars and deep dive sessions. This will continue as the project progresses. Further details are available at: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067306-2025.

The Management Information System framework is mandated for trusts through the Academies Trust Handbook (ATH) through the ‘comply or explain’ principle. The ‘comply or explain’ principle, which is also in use for other categories, was consulted with the Academies finance and assurance steering group, more details on which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/academies-finance-and-assurance-steering-group. Local authority-maintained schools are not under the same formal direction, although are still expected to use the framework once it is launched.