The DfE has given 53 academy trusts two weeks to justify paying high salaries last year.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency today published letters it this week sent to the trusts.

It told them they were "one of a very small number of trusts" that had paid either at least one person a salary of £150,000 or more, or at least two salaries between £100,000 and £150,000 in 2016-17.

It is the fourth batch of letters the ESFA has sent to academy trusts to demand explanations of high salaries, bringing the total that it has contacted to 213.

In December, chief executive Eileen Milner wrote to 29 single academy trusts that paid a salary in excess of £150,000 in 2015-16.

In February, she wrote to 88 multi-academy trusts that paid a salary above £150,000 in 2016-17.

And in April she wrote to 43 academy trusts paying two or more salaries between £100,000 and £150,000 in 2015-16.

In this week’s letter, Ms Milner said she was requesting “further information on your process, and just as importantly, the rationale for setting these levels of salaries within your trust”.

The following trusts were sent letters this week:

1. Aldridge Education
2. Ambitions Academies Trust
3. Amethyst Academies Trust
4. Anglian Learning
5. Astrea Academy Trust
6. Boleyn Trust
7. Brentwood Academies Trust
8. Cabot Learning Federation
9. Cidari Education Limited
10. Claremont High School Academy Trust
11. Cockburn Multi Academy Trust
12. Colston’s Girls’ School Trust
13. Community Inclusive Trust
14. Cranford Community College
15. Cuckoo Hall Academies Trust
16. Drapers’ Multi-academy Trust
17. Durand Academy Trust
18. Education and Leadership Trust
19. Empower Learning Academy Trust
20. Future Schools Trust
21. Inspire Multi Academy Trust
22. Learner Engagement and Achievement Partnership Multi-academy Trust
23. Lime Trust
24. Moor End Academies Trust
25. Mulberry Schools Trust
26. Navigate Academies Trust
27. Northern Education Trust
28. Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Trust
29. Paradigm Trust
30. Polymat
31. Russell Education Trust
32. Sandwell Academy Trust Limited
33. Sir John Lawes Academies Trust [Scholars’ Education Trust]
34. South Lincolnshire Academies Trust
35. St Bernard’s Catholic High School
36. TBAP Trust
37. TDA Education Trust
38. The Active Learning Trust Limited
39. The Aylesbury Vale Academy
40. The BRIT School Ltd
41. The College Academies Trust
42. The Compass Partnership of Schools
43. The Futures Trust
44. The Gosforth Federated Academies Limited
45. The Shaw Education Trust
46. The Silver Birch Academy
47. The Thrive Partnership Academy Trust
48. The UCL Academy
49. Transforming Lives Educational Trust
50. University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust
51. University Schools Trust, East London
52. Wellsway Multi Academy Trust
53. Woodard Academies Trust