Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government's proposals to reduce the number of government agencies, what discussions he has had with (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Standards and Testing Agency on that body's future (i) operation and (ii) budget; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has not entered into any recent discussions with HM Treasury on The Standards and Testing Agency’s (STA) future operation and budget. The Department has regular, routine discussions with STA about its operations and budget as part of regular assurance processes with its executive agencies.