Appeal Panel

a. BABCP or the Member may appeal any decision of the Screening Panel, Interim Orders Panel, Emergency Suspension Panel, Hearing/Health Panel, or Restoration Panel. Any appeal must be made in writing and lodged with the Complaints and Resolution Manager, by email at complaints@babcp.com, or by post (to British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP), Imperial House, Hornby Street, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 5BN), within 30 calendar days of the date of the decision letter.

b) The appeal must specify the grounds of appeal and be accompanied by any supporting documentary evidence. The Appeal Panel will only consider the allegations which formed part of the original complaint and will not consider any new allegations.

c) A decision may be appealed on one or more of the following grounds:

i. The decision was wrong having regard to the evidence before the Panel;

ii. There has been a failure of procedure which was material to the decision made and which renders the decision unsafe or unjust;

iii. There is new substantial evidence which was not reasonably available at the time of the original Panel and which may have had a material effect on the outcome had it been considered;

iv. The sanction imposed was disproportionate because it was insufficient for public protection, or was unduly harsh.

d) The Appeal Panel will first consider whether there is a realistic prospect that the appeal could succeed on one of the grounds set out in section 36(c):

i. If the Appeal Panel decides that there is no realistic prospect of success, the appeal will be dismissed and the appellant will be notified of the decision and the reasons for it;

ii. If the Appeal Panel decides that there is a realistic prospect of success, the appeal will proceed. The Appeal Panel may limit the scope of the appeal to specific issues.

e) The burden is on the appellant to satisfy the Appeal Panel that one or more of the grounds of appeal are made out.

f) The Appeal Panel will review the grounds of appeal, the evidence before the original Panel, and the original decision. In determining an appeal, the Appeal Panel may:

i. Dismiss or allow the appeal or any part of it;

ii. Substitute the whole or any part of the original Panel’s decision with one of its own;

iii. Uphold the sanction imposed, impose a different sanction, or revoke the sanction;

iv. When the appeal is against a sanction, the Appeal Panel can review all of the Panel’s findings to determine whether the sanction is proportionate and fair.

g) Appeals will ordinarily be determined on the papers unless the Appeal Panel directs otherwise. The Appeal Panel may determine an appeal by way of an oral hearing where it considers this necessary in the interests of fairness, either on application by a party or on its own initiative. The procedure to be followed at the appeal will be determined by the Chair of the Appeal Panel, subject to the requirements of fairness and this Procedure.

h) The procedure to be followed will be determined by the Chair of the Appeal Panel, subject to the requirements of this Procedure. Appeal hearings will normally be conducted in private and may take place in person, virtually, or by hybrid means, as determined by the Chair, having regard to the principles set out in sections 25–27. The Appeal Panel may give procedural directions and require the production of documents or the attendance of any party, witness, or other person where it considers this appropriate and proportionate.

i) The Complaints and Resolution Manager will notify the appellant, the Member, and the Complainant of the Appeal Panel’s decision and reasons.

j) The Appeal Panel will aim to determine the appeal as soon as reasonably practicable and ordinarily within six months of the appeal being received by the Complaints and Resolution Manager, subject to any necessary requests for further information, evidence, or representations.