 or to act as an advocate. The applicants will be able to ask the review panel questions and to respond to questions posed by the review panel. 1.73. The review panel administrator will invite the agency to send up to two representatives to the review panel meeting. Whenever possible the original assessing social worker should attend the meeting. This is because the review panel’s questioning is likely to focus on information obtained during the assessment. A second representative could be the team manager although some agencies may choose to send a senior manager. It is not appropriate for the decision-maker to attend as it will be their responsibility to make the final decision following the review panel’s recommendation. It is important that in these situations that the independence of the review panel is not affected by any discussion of the decision making of the original adoption panel or agency. 1.74. The review panel will not pay expenses to applicants, their friend/interpreter or to the agency’s representatives who attend the review panel meeting. Review panel’s recommendation 1.75. The review panel will make a written recommendation about the prospective adopter’s suitability to adopt a child or, in respect of disclosure of information cases, whether or not the agency should proceed with its original determination. The IRM administrator will send a copy of the review panel’s recommendation, its reasons and minutes to both the applicant and agency. 32 Chapter 2: Considering and deciding whether a child should be placed for adoption This part of the guidance explains the duties of an adoption agency where the agency is considering adoption for a child. Introduction 2.1. This part of the guidance deals with the duties of the adoption agency when it is considering