Part 4: Consumer rights and disputes Accreditation: procedure etc Section 298: Revocation or suspension of accreditations etc
This section enables the Secretary of State to revoke or suspend accreditation, limit the accreditation or impose further accreditation conditions. These powers are exercisable by notice.
	Subsection (1) is self-explanatory.
	Subsection (2) enables ADR providers to apply to have their accreditation revoked.
	Subsections (3) and (4) deal with circumstances in which the Secretary of State may exercise the powers in this section as a sanction.
	Subsection (3) sets out the grounds on which those sanctions may be applied. Those grounds are: contravention of the prohibitions in sections 293 (carrying out ADR, or making special ADR arrangements, where the ADR provider is not permitted to do so) or 294 (charging fees where the ADR provider is not permitted to do so); failure to comply with the accreditation criteria (see section 301); failure to comply with any conditions imposed on the ADR provider’s accreditation; and failure to comply with an enforcement notice (see section 302).
	Subsection (4) sets out the sanctions. The Secretary of State can vary an ADR provider’s accreditation by either limiting it to certain types of ADR or special ADR arrangements, imposing new conditions (or varying or removing existing conditions), or both. The Secretary of State may suspend or revoke the accreditation. Subsection (5) clarifies that the limiting of accreditation in subsection (4)(a)(i) includes limiting accreditation to consumer contract disputes already in ADR or existing special arrangements.
	Subsection (6) requires that, before imposing the relevant sanction, the Secretary of State must give the ADR provider an opportunity to make representations about its conduct and the action the ADR provider considers appropriate for the Secretary of State to take.
	Subsection (7) limits the variations that can be imposed under subsection (4)(a) to those variations that the Secretary of State considers necessary to ensure compliance with the accreditation criteria or existing conditions. Subsection (8) clarifies that existing conditions means the conditions as they stood before any variations made under subsection (4)(a) or (9)(b).
	Subsection (9)(a) requires the Secretary of State to keep any variations made under subsection (4)(a) under review and under subsection (9)(b) revoke or reverse those that the Secretary of State no longer considers necessary.
	Subsections (10) to (13) set out requirements to ensure certainty as to when any variation, revocation or suspension has effect and when any suspension ceases.
	By virtue of section 305(1)(b) and (2), the Secretary of State may publish information about sanctions imposed under this section to bring these to the attention of consumers.