An awarding organisation may request a review of a decision to withdraw recognition. If such a request is made, an independent reviewer, appointed by us for the purpose, will undertake the review. The reviewer may be a single person, a body, or a panel of people.

A request for a review must be submitted by the awarding organisation in writing to the designated officer no later than 30 days after receipt of the confirmed decision to withdraw recognition. The review of the decision would normally be completed within 60 days of the receipt from the awarding organisation of a request for a review of the decision. Once a decision to withdraw recognition has taken effect, unless we decide otherwise, that decision will continue to have effect throughout any independent review of the decision.

The independent reviewer will consider the evidence that informed the original decision and any representations made by the awarding organisation. The independent reviewer may also decide to consider new evidence if that evidence could not reasonably have been provided to us prior to our decision to withdraw recognition.

The independent reviewer may also seek advice from other experts with skills relevant to the review, but the final recommendation would be made by the reviewer alone.

The independent reviewer will consider whether the:

• process we used to make our decision to withdraw recognition was fair, and
• decision was reasonable taking into account all the relevant evidence.

The independent reviewer may:

• confirm that the process by which our decision was taken was fair and that our decision was reasonable, or
• remit the matter to us to be reconsidered and make recommendations for us to consider particular evidence or remedy any defects in our process.