The ESFA's conflicting duties raise important questions

What is to be done with the Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA)? Underfunded, understaffed and riddled with conflicts of interest, it has an impossible task. It claims it has three core functions:

The ESFA is staffed by decent civil servants working hard to do a decent job in the face of huge cuts. The trouble is the three core functions open it up to conflicting demands and pressures. In particular, we have seen that delivering government policy often triumphs over point two, regulating and intervening with education employers.

And the ESFA’s definition of value for money seems to translate as cutting costs. This reductionist approach is neatly summarised by Lord Agnew, who last term bet headteachers a bottle of champagne that he could find savings in their school. The symbolism of the “champagne” coming on top of the chancellor’s funding for “little extras” sums up an out-of-touch government.