Press Round-Up: Regulatory and Professional Discipline - February and March 2024

Healthcare

 

General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

The GPhC publishes updated hearings and outcomes guidance for decision-makers in fitness to practice cases.

 

The GPhC has published updated hearings and outcomes guidance for decision-makers in fitness to practice cases. The new guidance outlines the utmost seriousness with which concerns relating to discrimination, harassment and bullying need to be taken. It also emphasises the need for committee members to consider cultural sensitivities during hearings and when assessing a pharmacy professional’s fitness to practise, considering factors such as communication styles and English language proficiency.

 

general medical council (GMC)

GMC apologies to doctors for historic sanctions based on convictions under homophobic laws.

On 22 February 2024, the GMC formally apologised for past regulatory actions against doctors who had convictions under now-repealed homophobic laws. The Chair, Professor Dame Carrie MacEwen, said the GMC compounded ‘personal and professional harm’ when taking additional regulatory action’ against these doctors. Since the 1890s, over 40 cases have been identified, with at least eight doctors being removed from the medical register. ‘Laws and attitudes have changed’, Professor MacEwen continued, ‘but it is right that we apologise for them.’ Dr. Duncan McGregor of GLADD, an LGBTQ+ organisation, welcomed the apology. He emphasised its importance in addressing past injustices and how the GMC's internal LGBTQ+ staff network played an important role in initiating the apology.

GMC launches consultation how it regulates physician associates and anaesthesia associates.

On 26 March 2024, the GMC launched a consultation on the rules, standards and guidance on how it will regulate physician associates and anaesthesia associates. As Charlie Massey, Chief Executive of the GMC, opined: ‘Everyone agrees that regulation is needed and that it will benefit patient safety and public confidence. We are now setting out our proposed approach for how we will regulate these professions.’

The consultation will run for eight weeks, until 20 May 2024, and will cover areas such as education and training, registration, fees, and dealing with concerns.

 

nursing & midwifery council (NMC)

NMC strengthens decision-making guidance on concerns outside professional practice.

The NMC has updated its decision-making guidance for fitness to practise concerns which emerge outside of professional practice. It has clarified important principles surrounding sexual misconduct, domestic abuse, and discrimination, stating that these behaviours affect public confidence in the nursing and midwifery professions, and thus those who behave in such a way are at risk of being removed from the register. Moreover, the guidance states that there may be cases that need investigating despite the police dropping the case, considering the risk to people receiving care and public confidence in the professions.  

NMC announces biggest investment in fitness to practice in a decade

The NMC has published a draft plan to launch the biggest investment in fitness to practise in a decade. The aim is to ensure the NMC can continue to keep people safe in a timely and considerate way. The draft plan was approved by the Council on 27 March 2024.

The NMC has acknowledged the challenges in resolving fitness to practise cases promptly, impacting both the public and professionals. Due to an increase in referrals – 493 referrals per month since April 2023, compared to 417 in the same period last year - the NMC seeks Council approval for a significant investment in improving fitness to practise procedures. Seven key areas for enhancement have been identified:

1. Referral quality, safety and supporting stakeholders through NMC’s processes
2. Safe and swift progression of cases at screening and investigations
3. Releasing capacity in case preparation and presentation, and investigations 
4. Delivering sustainable change in case preparation and presentation
5. Improving the quality and timeliness of decisions at the adjudication stage
6. People, culture and organisational design 
7. Improving NMC systems.

Lesley Maslen, NMC Executive Director of Professional Regulation, emphasised the need for a person-centred and collaborative approach, committing £30 million over three years to enhance fitness to practise services. The plan aims for timely and sustainable case resolution while ensuring public safety and professional support.

NMC recommends developing an approach to additional regulation of advanced practice.

At the Council meeting on 27 March 2024, the NMC’s plan for additional regulation for advanced practice roles in nursing and midwifery was approved. As it stands, the NMC have developed the following proposed approaches to regulating advanced practice:

1. Developing standards of proficiency for advanced level practice (and associated programme standards)
2. Adopting a collaborative approach to develop a UK-wide advanced practice principles framework incorporating a shared position or definition of advanced level practice
3. Ensuring that advanced level practice requirements are included in the wider reviews of revalidation and the Code scheduled for 2025/26.

The hope is that these will help address public and professional concerns over the lack of consistency in education and training, qualifications, responsibilities, and governance processes in advanced practice. The NMC will proceed to engage with stakeholders and conduct a public consultation on final proposals.

 

GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL (GDC)

The GDC provides update on work to address concerns about the fitness to practice process

The GDC is updating its procedures to address concerns about the level of detail disclosed publicly regarding serious allegations considered by an Interim Orders Committee, reporting the causes of death of registrants with active fitness to practise cases, and improving the fitness to practices process to reduce participant impact. The full update can be read here.

The Court held that, where the PCC makes a direction for a suspension order pursuant to S.27B, and an immediate order under S.30, this does not create two separate, consecutive orders. Instead, the time spent under the immediate order must be “set off” or deducted from the time spent under the substantive order. The immediate order does not extend the period of suspension beyond that set by the PCC by way of sanction and in breach of the statutory maximum of 12 months. The Court held that the PCC’s determination in Mr Aga’s case was therefore wrong in law, for failing to include a direction that time spent under the S.30 immediate order was to be “set off” or deducted from the total suspension order.

Having considered the Judgment, the GDC has indicated that it intends to apply for permission to appeal.

 

Legal

sra

SRA consults on potential regulation of CILEX students and paralegals

The SRA have begun a consultation on suggested rule changes intended to facilitate the potential regulation of non-authorised members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executive (CILEX) members. The consultation will run until 15 May 2024 and feedback will be considered by the SRA Board in June 2024. The proposed arrangements will explain the rules that would apply to CILEX students and paralegals if CILEX’s suggestion to re-delegate to the SRA occurs.

 

bar standards board (bsb)

Bar Standards Board Publishes 2023 annual report on diversity of its workforce and members

On 20 March 2024, the BSB published its annual Diversity of the BSB Workforce and Board Members report. The key findings of the report were:

1. Four members of the board are female and seven male, and eight out of eleven board members are White and the other members are from ‘another ethnic group’.
2. Fifty-nine percent of the BSB workforce is White. Forty-one percent of their workforce is from an ethnic minority background, which is two percentage points higher than seen in the previous 2022 edition of the report.
3. Seventy-four percent of the workforce is female.
4. Three percent declared a disability, a decrease of one percentage point from 2022.
5. Thirteen percent of their workforce are ‘bisexual/Gay or Lesbian/ Another sexuality’ which is unchanged year on year.
6. Senior staff were more likely to be older, white, male, independently educated, and not in the first generation in their family to have attended university as compared to junior staff.

 

Finance

ICAEW

ICAEW announce new Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations from 1 September 2024

On 12 March 2024, the Institute of Chartered Accountant’s in England and Wales (ICAEW) announced new Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations, which will come into effect on 1 September 2024. The main changes are as follows:

1. The minimum limit of indemnity will increase from £1.5m to £2m.
2. For firms with a gross fee income which is below £800,000, the limit will be two and a half times the firm’s gross fee income, subject to a minimum of £250,000 (this is an increase from £100,000).
3. Larger firms with gross fee income over £50m will not be required to put in place ‘qualifying insurance’ but must have in place appropriate arrangements which will be monitored. (Currently this approach is available to firms with 50+ principals.)
4. For firms that will be required to put qualifying insurance in place, the maximum aggregate excess should not exceed the higher of £3,000 or 3% of a firm’s gross fee income.

 

FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY (FCA)

The FCA propose amendments to FG21/4, guidance for insolvency practitioners on how to approach regulated firms.

The FCA is proposing amendments to FG21/4, its guidance for insolvency practitioners on how to approach regulated firms, which was published in 2021. Because of changes in regulatory and legal frameworks and the UK economic climate, the FCA is looking to improve the clarity, and provide greater information, in parts of the guidance. The deadline to express views on this consultation is 30 April 2024, which can be done here.

 

Financial reporting council (frc)

FRC launches UK Stewardship Code 2020 review.

 

The FRC is embarking on a review of the UK Stewardship Code 2020 to guarantee it supports growth and the UK’s competitiveness. The publication of the revised code is expected to be complete in early 2025. The review will focus on to what extent the code supports long term value creation through appropriate investor-issuer engagement that drives issuers’ prospects and performance, creates reporting burdens on issuers as well as Code signatories, and has led to any unintended consequences, such as short-termism in targets and outlook for issuers.