Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action, if any, they have taken during the last 12 months in relation to the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy chain.

Lord Nash

During the last 12 months, the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy trust chain have been reviewed as a criminal investigation since first reported to the police in October 2012 by this multi-academy trust. The criminal case against the perpetrator of the fraud began week commencing 6 June at Woolwich Crown Court.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has engaged with the Trust from the outset and immediately requested that the Trust assess financial systems and risks. The Trust carried out an independent and thorough review of its internal control procedures and reported on this to the EFA. The Trust has taken all the appropriate action since the issue was first identified and the remaining key actions now rest with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Academies and free schools face tighter financial scrutiny than local authority maintained schools. They must publish annual, independently-audited accounts, of which there is no equivalent requirement on maintained schools. We take swift action whenever we identify financial irregularities.