The Education (School Organisation Proposals) (England) Regulations 1999

Review of standard number decisions

16.—(1) This regulation makes provision, for the purposes of paragraph 6(10) of Schedule 23 for enabling the school organisation committee or the adjudicator–

(a) to review any relevant decision, that is to say a decision of theirs under paragraph 6(1) of that Schedule varying or, as the case may be, refusing to vary any standard number; and

(b) if appropriate, to revoke or vary that decision.

(2) The school organisation committee or (if the decision was made by him) the adjudicator may review a relevant decision where they are satisfied, upon the application of the local education authority or the governing body, that–

(a) the decision was wrongly made by virtue of a material error of fact contained in the information provided to the school organisation committee in accordance with regulation 6(2); or

(b) there was an obvious error in the decision.

(3) No such application for the review of a relevant decision shall be made later than one month after the date on which the person mentioned in paragraph 4(3) of Schedule 23 was given written notice of that decision by the school organisation committee or, as the case may be, the adjudicator.

(4) Every such application shall be by notice in writing setting out the grounds on which it is made; and the body making the application shall forthwith serve a copy of it on the governing body or (in a case where it was made by that body) the local education authority who, in either case, shall then be entitled, not later than 14 days after the date of service, to make written representations to the school organisation committee or (as the case may be) the adjudicator in relation to the application.

(5) If, having considered the application and any representations made as mentioned in paragraph (4), the school organisation committee or (as the case may be) the adjudicator determine–

(a) that they are not satisfied as mentioned in paragraph (2) and that therefore the relevant decision does not fall to be reviewed; or

(b) (where they are so satisfied) that the relevant decision should be revoked or varied, they shall forthwith give written notice of that determination to the governing body and the local education authority.

(6) If–

(a) by not later than two months following the receipt of an application made in accordance with this regulation for the review of a relevant decision of theirs, the school organisation committee have not voted on the question of whether–

(i) they are satisfied as mentioned in paragraph (2), or

(ii) (where they are so satisfied) the decision should be revoked or varied; and

(b) the body by whom the application was made request the committee to refer the application to the adjudicator, they shall refer the application to the adjudicator.

(7) The committee shall also refer the application to the adjudicator if they have voted on that question but failed to reach a unanimous decision.

(8) Where any application is referred to the adjudicator under paragraphs (6) or (7)–

(a) he shall consider the application afresh; and

(b) paragraph (5) shall apply to him in connection with his decision on the application as it applies to the committee.