New Clause 4 - Complaints procedures
Education Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Mr Don Touhig (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales), Department for Constitutional Affairs; Islwyn, Labour/Co-operative)
I take the hon. Lady’s point. She will recall that I went on to say that we are seeking to make changes to the School Inspections Act 1996 so that provisions in the Bill will place the responsibility for the publication of all inspectors’ reports on the chief inspector. The chief inspector will therefore be ultimately responsible for the publication of all reports.
I did say that the chief inspector would then be required to make a statement if he rejected the independent adjudicator’s comments in upholding a complaint. I have no doubt in those circumstances that hon. and right hon. Members will seek opportunities in this place to take the matter further in Adjournment debates and by other measures. We cannot, and should not, go further at this stage. This is an important way of making progress on the issue of complaints. The process is open and transparent, which is important. The requirement on the chief inspector to make a public statement of the reasons why he would reject an independent adjudicator’s complaints is very important.