Commentary on Sections Part 7: Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation Minimum requirements Section 143: Effect of determination of minimum requirements
436.Where an order is made specifying minimum requirements, Ofqual must then (subsection (2)) set recognition criteria, recognition conditions, and/or accreditation criteria for the qualification or description of qualification so that the minimum requirements set out in the order are met. It would then be for awarding bodies recognised to award the qualification or description of qualification to develop qualifications that met the criteria or conditions.
437.Where such an order has been made, there is an expectation that the QCDA would support the development of the criteria associated with the qualification (see section 180), which is why there is a duty on the QCDA to assist Ofqual in these circumstances where requested to do so.
438.Ofqual does not have to comply with the order if it would mean (section 143(3)) that doing so would result in the depth, or level, of knowledge, skills or understanding of the qualification or description of qualification not being consistent with comparable qualifications – i.e. those qualifications which were supposed to be at the same level. So if, in seeking to set criteria, Ofqual discovered that the content specified in the order was at a level that was inappropriate for the qualification, and therefore Ofqual could not maintain standards, it would not be required to implement the order.