News and Updates

The Recording of Hearings in HESC

The facility to audio record video hearings in HESC has existed for some time. Equally, the facility to audio record face to face hearings in some tribunal and court rooms in Special Educational Needs and Disability, Care Standards and Primary Health Lists also currently exists.

The Chamber President, in conjunction with the Deputy Chamber Presidents, has decided to introduce guidance for the recording of hearings where those facilities exist from 1 February 2023.

In the first instance this shall only apply to hearings in SEND/CS/PHL in circumstances where the technical facility exists to do so and where such recordings can be securely retained.

It does not currently apply to Mental Health.

The accompanying Presidential Guidance sets out how this will work in practice (PDF).

The Deputy Chamber President, Judge Tudur, will shortly issue to SEND/CS/PHL JOHs further information on the procedure to be followed.

We thank you in advance for your co-operation in this process. Recording is commonplace in most courts and many tribunals, and the use of this facility should not create extensive additional work for JOHs.

Tribunal Quarterly Statistics published

In the SEND jurisdiction, the statistics show that for the school year 2021/22 11,052 EHCP related appeals were registered with HESC, compared to 8579 the previous year and 7,002 in 2018/19 – the last, full school year before the pandemic.

You can access the Tribunal Quarterly Statistics here (external link).

HESC Judge joins Lord Chief Justice to promote judicial outreach in schools

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales visited The One Sixth Form College in Ipswich to give the pupils a chance to hear about the work of judges, the justice system and the rule of law. He was accompanied by Judge Jane McConnell, a Special Educational Needs Judge based in the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber.

HESC Presidential Guidance Note No1 of 2022: Taking oral evidence from abroad and representatives and observers appearing from abroad

Please read this guidance issued by Health, Education and Social Care Chamber President Judge Mark Sutherland Williams

New Publication – Disabled Children and the Equality Act 2010: Guide for Teachers

A new publication by the Council for Disabled Children has been produced aiming to explain to teachers their duties to disabled pupils under the Equality Act 2010 in an accessible way. Although it is published in conjunction with the DfE, it does not have any particular status before the Tribunal. Here is the publication: Disabled Children and the Equality Act 2010 – Guide for Teachers

HESC Diversity and Inclusion Committee hosts careers event

On 12 May 2022, a number of judges from HESC provided an overview of their legal careers with a view to encouraging a range of solicitors to consider applying for judicial posts in the future. There were judges from both mental health and SEND who provided an overview of their career path into the law and who shared tips on the qualities that one needed to become a judge as well as the need for evidence based examples. They were able to provide a diverse range of personal experiences about how they got into law and the judiciary. This pilot event aimed to demystify the judiciary and was attended by over 100 solicitors who work in HESC and there were a range of questions from representatives about how they might become judges in the future. HESC intends to run similar events in the future and in due course will extend this to non-legal members.

Chamber President and Chief Medical Member to speak at the International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

The Chamber President and the Chief Medical Member, Dr Joan Rutherford, will speak at the International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Edinburgh this year.

Session title: Understanding the Family Court if you’re not an expert witness – a session for clinicians of all grades

Time: 10.30-11.45
Date: Wednesday 22 June 2022

You can find the full programme online.

Mental Health: Ombudsman Guidance on s117 aftercare

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) have released new guidance to tackle common and repeated mistakes seen in the aftercare of patients receiving support under the Mental Health Act. The guidance highlights the need for effective and timely joint working between local authorities and NHS clinical commissioning groups.

Deputy Chamber President to speak at International Conference

Judge Tudur will be taking part in the Inaugural Tribunals Conference ‘Advancing Access to Justice through a Quality Tribunals System’, being held (remotely) from Singapore. She will be speaking on the important subject of the Tribunals Reform of 2008 and the Technology-based Reform of 2020 in the United Kingdom.

Further details may be found online.

New judicial appointments

Judge Lawrence Ford has been appointed as a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal by the Senior President of Tribunals, the Right Honourable Sir Keith Lindblom.

The Senior President of Tribunals has assigned him to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber to exercise the Special Educational Needs and Disability, Care Standards and Primary Health Lists jurisdictions within that Chamber with effect from 7 June 2021.

Judge Ford was admitted to the Roll in 1987. He was appointed as a fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, assigned to the Social Entitlement Chamber in 2013. He was also assigned to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber in 2017.

Judge Elisabeth Bussey-Jones has been appointed as a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal by the Senior President of Tribunals, the Right Honourable Sir Keith Lindblom.

The Senior President of Tribunals has assigned her to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber to exercise the Mental Health Jurisdiction within that Chamber with effect from 7 June 2021.

Judge Bussey-Jones was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1997. She was appointed as a Recorder in 2016 and as a Deputy District Judge in 2015. She was also appointed as a fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, assigned to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber in 2018.

Judge Jo Boylan-Kemp MBE has been appointed as a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal by the Senior President of Tribunals, the Right Honourable Sir Keith Lindblom.

The Senior President of Tribunals has assigned her to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber to exercise the Mental Health Jurisdiction within that Chamber, with effect from 17 May 2021.

Judge Boylan-Kemp MBE was called to the Bar (Lincoln’s Inn) in 2003. She was appointed as a fee-paid Judge of the First-tier Tribunal assigned to the Social Entitlement Chamber in 2013, and in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber in 2014. She was also appointed to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber in 2018.