Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber makes a serious adverse ruling against a school but the judgment is not made public, it communicates the judgment to the relevant inspectorate; and, if not, why.

The provision of written reasons for decisions in Special Educational Needs and Discrimination (SEND) proceedings in the First-tier Tribunal is governed by the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008. The rules can be found at the following link: The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008.

Rule 30 provides that written reasons must be provided to the parties where (i) the decision finally disposes of all issues in proceedings or (ii) the Tribunal makes a determination in a preliminary issue. The decision in individual cases on whether to disclose a written decision to someone other than a party to the proceedings is a judicial one and not something in which Ministers can intervene.