Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals of SEND decisions made by people from Gloucestershire were heard at tribunals in each of the last five years; and how many and what proportion of those cases were won by parents.

Information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

The table below sets out the number of appeals to SEND against decisions made by the Local Authority in Gloucestershire for the period 2018 to 2023; and the percentage of appeals which were found in favour of the appellant (which includes parents and young people), for the years 2020 – 2022.

Outcome data on appeals before 2020 are not available due to the Records Retention and Disposal Schedule (RRDS) of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) (of which SEND is part) requiring that data are deleted three years after the conclusion of the appeal. The full RRDS can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62b47cfcd3bf7f0af821efef/health-education-social-care-chamber-rrds.pdf.

Decisions made by Local Authorities about the special educational needs of young people can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including evidence in the form of oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. HMCTS cannot comment on decisions made by independent tribunal judiciary.