Using disclosure responses

Receiving a disclosure response is the start of a process, not the end. What you do with the documents, and how you identify what may be missing, often matters more than the initial request.

What to look for in a SAR response

When you receive a SAR response from a local authority, read through everything and look for:

Internal communications: emails and notes between LA officers about your child's case. These often reveal the LA's actual reasoning for decisions, which may differ from the formal explanation given to you.

Professional advice: reports or assessments commissioned by the LA that were not shared with you at the time. In EHCP cases, the LA is required to share all professional advice received during the assessment process, but sometimes documents are missed or withheld.

Case management records: internal logs of actions taken (or not taken) in your case. Dates of key decisions, who was involved, and what was communicated.

Draft documents: earlier versions of EHCPs or other documents that differ from the final version.

Identifying what may be missing

Compare what you received against what you know should exist:

• If you attended meetings, there should be minutes or records
• If professionals wrote reports, there should be copies
• If the LA made a decision, there should be a record of the decision-making process

If you believe documents are missing, write to the organisation formally: "I note that your response does not appear to include [specific documents]. Please confirm whether these records exist and, if so, provide them."

If the organisation claims records do not exist, note this, the absence of records that should exist is itself significant.

Adding disclosed documents to your Vault

Documents received through a disclosure request can be uploaded to your Vault just like any other evidence. Assign them to the relevant category (LA correspondence, professional reports, etc.) and run an document analysis if they contain professional assessments or reports.

From the disclosure request record, you can link each uploaded document directly to the request it came from, maintaining a clear chain of custody.

Using disclosure documents in a tribunal

Documents disclosed by the LA as part of a SAR can be used as evidence in a tribunal, provided they are relevant and have been properly disclosed. Your solicitor or advocate will advise on how to handle specific documents in the context of your case.