Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to make the work of Regional School Commissioners open to the public.

The work of Regional School Commissioners (RSCs) is open to the public.

The RSCs decision-making framework, attached, is published online and can be found at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577885/RSC_decision_making_framework_December_2016.pdf.

This framework describes their roles, responsibilities and parameters. It clarifies the core functions of RSCs and gives further detail on the decisions they might take in different scenarios.

All decisions made by RSCs are made on the advice (and challenge) of headteacher boards (HTBs) at regular monthly meetings. During each HTB meeting, a meeting note of all the decisions is taken and later published on GOV.UK.

Following my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State’s undertaking at the last National Association of Head Teachers conference in May 2018, the Department for Education has implemented a number of HTB transparency measures. These measures include a restructuring of the HTB information content on GOV.UK so that information about these boards is more accessible and easier to find. This can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/headteacher-boards.

The department has also published a schedule of future HTB meeting dates and it is publishing draft agendas of these meetings. This will ensure that members of the public know in advance, when and what will be discussed at HTB meetings.

The department has also published blank HTB meeting preparation templates. These give members of the public an idea of the types of data and information that feed into the decisions that RSCs make.