Top civil servant makes assurances to MPs after Guardian exposed profits made by Ecctis Ltd

England’s most senior education official has assured MPs that suppliers on not-for-profit contracts will not in the future be able to make money secretly after “serious failings” were exposed by the Guardian.

Susan Acland-Hood, the Department for Education’s permanent secretary, told the cross-party public accounts committee (PAC) that a “very hard” review had been undertaken in light of the conduct of a company running UK visa services.