Education and Skills Funding Agency

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Education and Skills Funding Agency
Executive Agency overview
Formed1 April 2017 (2017-04-01)
Preceding Executive Agency
Dissolved31 March 2025 (2025-03-31)
Jurisdiction England
Parent department Department for Education
Website www.gov.uk/government/organisations/education-and-skills-funding-agency

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) was an executive agency of the government of the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Department for Education. It existed from 2017 to 2025.

Contents

The ESFA was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) and the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). [1] It brought together the existing responsibilities of the EFA and SFA, creating a single agency accountable for funding education, apprenticeships and training for children, young people and adults. Previously the EFA was responsible for distributing funding for state education in England for 3–19 year olds, as well as managing the estates of schools and colleges; and the SFA was responsible for funding skills training for further education in England and running the National Apprenticeship Service and the National Careers Service.

The EFA had been formed on 1 April 2012 by bringing together the functions of two previous non-departmental public bodies, the Young People's Learning Agency and Partnerships for Schools. [2] From 2013, the EFA oversaw a schools capital building programme, appointing construction contractors under national and regional framework agreements to enable schools and other education bodies to select and appoint contractors. A report was issued in 2015 which highlighted that the EFA had discriminated against small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) when appointing to the framework agreements, contrary to UK government guidance promoting SME access to government procurement opportunities. [3]

In the 2019–20 financial year, the ESFA was responsible for a budget of £59 billion and had approximately 1,500 staff. [4] The budget had increased to £65 billion by 2022. [5]

David Withey was the final Chief Executive; appointed in 2022. [6]

On 11 September 2024, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced the ESFA would close on 31 March 2025, with its functions integrated into the core Department for Education. [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New agency to provide joined-up education and skills funding". GOV.UK. Department for Education. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  2. ↑ "The creation of the Education Funding Agency". Department for Education. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012.
  3. ↑ DeNové LLP, Project Compass CIC and the National Federation of Builders Ltd., Education Funding Agency Procurement Issues, published March 2015, accessed 20 June 2023
  4. ↑ "ESFA business plan for 2019 to 2020 financial year" (PDF). GOV.UK. June 2019. pp. 3, 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. ↑ Education and Skills Funding Agency, About us, accessed 20 June 2023
  6. ↑ "David Withey". GOV.UK. Education and Skills Funding Agency. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  7. ↑ "Education and Skills Funding Agency: Statement made on 11 September 2024". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
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