The Teaching Agency and arm's length body reform
In October 2010, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, announced the outcomes of a cross-government review of all public bodies. Of 900 bodies, more than half were to be reformed to some degree. The aim is to make at least £2.6 billion in administrative savings and a further £30 billion savings by reducing programme and capital spending over the spending review period. The Government also wants to establish greater accountability, transparency and efficiency in the operation of public services.
In response, the Department for Education has implemented a huge change programme, with several of its arm's length bodies closing and others becoming part of the Department. As a result, there are now four new executive agencies responsible for key delivery functions – the Standards & Testing Agency, the Teaching Agency, the National College and the Education Funding Agency. The Standards & Testing Agency opened on 1 October 2011; the other three agencies on 1 April 2012.
Each agency has a chief executive who reports to one of the Department’s directors general. The chief executives are also accounting officers reporting to the Permanent Secretary and are accountable to Parliament. Each agency has its own budget and is responsible for publishing its own annual accounts. Executive agency staff are civil servants, employed by the Department for Education.
The Department's agencies and policy directorates share back office services such as HR, IT support and communications, in order to deliver efficiency savings.
