Education and Inspections Act 2006

General provisions

150 Evidence of authority

(1) This section applies to any person exercising (in accordance with paragraph 9 of Schedule 12)—

(a) any power of entry conferred on the Chief Inspector by virtue of any enactment,

(b) any power to inspect documents so conferred, or

(c) any power so conferred in connection with the inspection of documents.

(2) Any such person must, if so required, produce a duly authenticated document showing his authority to exercise the power concerned.

(3) Nothing in this section applies in relation to any exercise of the power conferred by section 141(1).

151 Publication of inspection reports

(1) For the purposes of the law of defamation, a report made by the Chief Inspector which—

(a) is published under any enactment, or

(b) is not so published but is made in pursuance of his functions under any enactment,

is privileged unless its publication is shown to have been made with malice.

(2) Where by virtue of any enactment the Chief Inspector has power to arrange for a report made by him to be published in a manner determined by him, he may (if he considers it appropriate to do so) arrange for the report to be published by electronic means only.

(3) Nothing in this section—

(a) limits any privilege subsisting apart from subsection (1), or

(b) prejudices the generality of any power of the Chief Inspector subsisting apart from subsection (2).

152 Combined reports

(1) Nothing in any enactment prevents the Chief Inspector from—

(a) combining in a single document two or more reports which are required to be made by him under any enactment or enactments, or

(b) combining in a single document one or more such reports and one or more reports which are required to be made by one or more other persons under any enactment or enactments,

and (in either case) combining the substantive reports to such extent as he considers appropriate.

(2) In this section such a document is referred to as a “combined report”.

(3) Where a combined report is made, any reference in any enactment—

(a) to the publication of a report, or

(b) to the giving or making available to any person of a copy of a report,

is to be read, so far as necessary, as a reference to the publication of the combined report, or to the giving or making available to that person of a copy of the combined report.

(4) The Chief Inspector may arrange for a combined report to be published in any manner he considers appropriate, but this subsection does not limit any duty as to publication imposed by any enactment.

(5) The provisions of section 151 apply to a combined report (whether or not they would otherwise so apply).

153 Use of information

Information obtained by the Chief Inspector in connection with any of his functions may be used by him in connection with any of his other functions.