Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on appellants of First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) hearings being cancelled; and what plans they have to mitigate this impact, including any plans to offer financial compensation.

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service has assessed the impact on all its customers of hearings being cancelled, and has listened to the views of users at recent user groups.

To mitigate this, the SEND Tribunal has increased the number of administrative staff, legal advisers and judges to reduce the number of cases which are postponed after they have been listed for hearing and is recruiting additional judges.

SEND Tribunals are free to access and use, but where appellants have incurred and can evidence financial loss as a consequence of the postponement of a hearing they may apply for a compensatory payment. Each application for an ex-gratia payment is treated on its own merits.