EFA is changing the way it works to make things clearer, simpler and faster for our customers.

Over the next 12 months EFA will be introducing a number of changes that will make it easier for you to find your information and carry out various tasks.

As explained in recent e-bulletins, the EFA IM portal shuts on 20 March and all documents must be saved from there.

From May there will be a new ‘document exchange’ system to allow the secure exchange of information between EFA and your institution.

For that to work, EFA will be ask providers to sign up to the Department for Education’s ‘Secure Access’ system.

Over the coming months there will be new electronic forms to make it easier to submit information in a standard way, the ability for you to see your remittance advice and other data, and an online calendar that will highlight forthcoming tasks and actions. EFA will use its fortnightly e-bulletin to let you know about changes to systems.

One of the first changes you can see: EFA has moved to GOV.UK, reducing the amount of information, and have re-written material to make it clearer and more task-oriented.

GOV.UK works on the basis that most people will search, and you will find EFA information on the ‘departments and policy’ tab, but EFA’s main information is gathered into a number of ‘document collections’. They are:

• EFA e-bulletin
• Funding education for 16 to 19-year-olds
• School building design and maintenance
• School capital expenditure and funding
• Priority School Building Programme
• EFA contractors framework
• Academies: funding, payment and compliance
• Academies financial management and governance reviews
• Academies investigation reports
• Academies financial notices to improve
• Academies finance and assurance steering group