Press Round-Up: Regulatory and Professional Discipline - August and September 2024

Healthcare

 

GENERAL Dental COUNCIL (GdC)

GDC publishes outcome of call for evidence on Overseas Registration Examination (ORE)

 

The GDC has reviewed the feedback received from their recent call for evidence on the structure and operation of the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE). There was no significant demand for immediate structural change, but a clear desire was identified for improvements in the examinations availability.

The GDC’s published outcome report can be accessed here: Informing our future approach to registration for internationally qualified dentists and DCPs: call for evidence outcome (gdc-uk.org)

The GDC has increased the ORE capacity which will assist with modernising the international registration process, with more flexible contracts in place for the delivery of the ORE in 2025.

The GDC are also calling for an indication of the Government’s plans for provisional registration for overseas qualified dentists.

 

NURSING & MIDWIFERY COUNCIL (NMC)

NMC has set out how it intends to transform its culture

 

The NMC has set out how it tends to transform its culture following the recent independent review that identified serious failings in the NMC’s culture and regulatory work. The NMC accepted all 36 of the reviews recommendations. The NMC are proposing a multi-year culture transformation programme alongside significant improvements, at pace, to their regulatory casework in order to improve outcomes for the public and professionals.

Further details of the NMC’s plans can be viewed here: How the NMC proposes to transform its culture and regulatory performance - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

 

General optical council (goc)

GOC research revels ongoing workplace challenges impacting patient care

The GOC has published the results of its Registrant Workforce and Perceptions Survey 2024. This found that optical professionals are continuing to face challenging working conditions which are affecting their ability to provide safe patient care. The types of concerns raised includes high workloads, time pressures, understaffing and commercial pressures and targets. The levels of harassment, bullying or abuse experienced by professionals remains at a high level.

As part of the GOC’s Standards Review, the Council is due to approve tougher standards that will explicitly reference behaviour between colleagues and require optical businesses to put in place support for registrants who have experienced discrimination, bullying or harassment in the workplace.

The full report can be accessed here: GOC Registrant Workforce and Perceptions Survey 2024 | GeneralOpticalCouncil

 

general pharmaceutical council (gphc)

Professional Standards Authority publishes GPhC performance review for 2023/24

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has found that the GPhC met 17 out of 18 of its Standards of Good Regulation during 2023/24. In the report, the PSA recognised the range of initiatives that the GPhC is taking forward as part of its strategy to improve timeliness, including creating a new Chief Enforcement Officer role to oversee the end-to-end fitness to practise function, and a New Case Action Team to deal with cases from referral to investigation more swiftly.

The PSA’s report can be found here: PSA Performance Review | Monitoring Report - GPhC 2023/24 (professionalstandards.org.uk)

 

Legal

bar standards board (bsb) 

Bar Standards Board consults on revised proposals to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at the Bar

 

On 3 September 2024, the BSB launched a public consultation on new rules to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at the Bar. The consultation seeks views on a number of proposals. In particular, a change to Core Duty 8 would place a positive obligation on barristers to “act in a way that advances equality, diversity, and inclusion” when providing legal services. The BSB also proposes to take a more outcomes focused approach to these equality rules, but to retain prescriptive requirements where necessary for transparency and accountability.

The consultation can be accessed here: Bar Standards Board consults on revised proposals to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at the Bar

 

Finance

 

Financial Conduct authority (FCA)

The FCA proposes new rules to better protect customers of payments firms

 

The FCA are consulting on proposals to make safeguarding rules stronger and clearer for payment and e-money firms so customers get as much of their money back as quickly as possible if the firm goes out of business.

Funds held by payments and e-money firms are not directly protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Instead, firms must safeguard funds which can mean customers lose money or experience delays to funds being returned if the firm fails.

Under the FCA’s proposals, the existing e-money safeguarding regime will be replaced with a client assets (CASS) style regime designed to work with payments firms’ business models. It will also publish strengthened interim safeguarding rules for firms by the middle of next year.

The consultation is opened until 17 December 2024 and can be accessed here:

CP24/20: Changes to the safeguarding regime for payments and e-money firms | FCA

 

Financial reporting Council (frc)

FRC publishes revised technical actuarial standards for the insurance sector

 

The FRC has published version 2.0 of Technical Actuarial Standard 200 (TAS 200). These revisions are reflective of stakeholder feedback received throughout the FRC’s consultation, and aim to reflect developments in the insurance industry.

The revised standard includes changes to support practitioners in considering the implications for actuarial work relating to the FCA’s Consumer Duty principle. The standard has been revised to reflect known gaps in some areas of technical actuarial work, including insurance transformations, audit and assumption setting.

Technical Actuarial Standards (frc.org.uk)