The Commons Education Select Committee will question Ofqual’s future next week, following the chaos over GCSE and A-level grades this summer.

Robert Halfon, the committee chair, told Tes that as part of a hearing on summer exam results on Wednesday, the committee would question whether Ofqual should be absorbed into the Department for Education.

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“The question is whether the relationship between the DfE and Ofqual has become dysfunctional, and whether or not there are fundamental questions about the future role of Ofqual, and whether or not it should be brought back into the department,” he told Tes.

The regulator has been beset with problems this summer over its statistical process for calculating GCSE and A level grades, culminating in a last-minute U-turn to mostly award teacher-assessed grades after all.

This week, Sally Collier resigned from her post as chief regulator at the organisation.

Ms Collier left her post after Ofqual chose to ditch its standardisation process to calculate grades this year following outrage from students and teachers over A level grades that were far lower than they expected.

She has been replaced in the short term by her predecessor Dame Glenys Stacey, supported by Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman.

She will not be attending the hearing this week owing to personal reasons.