Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

216 Law of defamation

(1) For the purposes of the law of defamation the following are absolutely privileged—

(a) the publication of any matter in communications between a governing body and a Local Commissioner, or any person discharging or assisting in the discharge of a function of a Local Commissioner, for the purposes of this Chapter;

(b) the publication of any matter by a Local Commissioner or by any person discharging or assisting in the discharge of a function of a Local Commissioner, in communicating for the purposes of this Chapter with a person mentioned in subsection (2);

(c) the publication of any matter in preparing, making and sending a statement in accordance with section 211;

(d) the publication of any matter by inclusion in an adverse findings notice published in accordance with section 212(3), (4) and (5) or (6);

(e) the publication of any matter by inclusion in a statement or summary published or supplied under section 213;

(f) the publication of any matter contained in a report by a Local Commissioner which has been made available to the public, being publication by inclusion in a report made or published under section 219.

(2) The persons mentioned in subsection (1)(b) are—

(a) the governing body;

(b) the complainant (or, if the complainant is the pupil, a parent of the complainant);

(c) Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills;

(d) the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;

(e) a local education authority (within the meaning given by section 12 of the Education Act 1996 (c. 56));

(f) the Secretary of State.