Press Round-Up: Regulatory and Professional Discipline - June and July 2024

Healthcare

 

GENERAL Medical COUNCIL (GMC)

Making doctors aware of new government regulations: restrictions on the use of puberty suppressing hormones

 

The GMC has encouraged doctors to familiarise themselves with the new arrangements for prescribing puberty suppressing hormones. The UK government has introduced emergency regulations to restrict new prescribing of puberty suppressing hormones for the treatment of gender incongruence or gender dysphoria in children and young people who are under 18 years of age in England, Wales and Scotland. The regulations mean that as of 3 June until 3 September, no new patients under 18 can receive private prescriptions of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues for the purposes of puberty suppression in those experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence.

More can be read here about the new arrangements.

Statement in response to the British Medical Association’s (BMA) threat of legal action.

The GMC has issued a statement in response to the announcement by the BMA that they are preparing to take legal action against the GMC over its use of the term ‘medical professionals’, and the GMC’s intention to apply its core professional standards to doctors, physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs).

A GMC spokesperson said:

‘We have responded to the BMA today, strongly rejecting the basis on which they have threatened to bring legal proceedings. We believe the grounds for the threatened judicial review are not even arguable.’

‘We have extensively and formally consulted with the BMA over several years in relation to the core standards to be set for PAs and AAs, Good medical practice. From as early as 2021 we made the BMA and others aware of our intention to apply our core professional standards to doctors, PAs and AAs, and received no objections from them at all. Our approach, in publishing a single set of core standards, is consistent with that of other multi-profession healthcare regulators.’

‘The term ‘medical professionals’, which we have adopted to describe all the professional groups we will regulate, is not a protected title, and our use of it is both lawful and appropriate.’

The full statement can be read here.

 

General dental council (GDC)

GDC publishes its Annual Report and Accounts for 2023

The GDC published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2023 on 18 July 2024. It reported key developments in the reporting year including: 

• Changes brought together the GDC’s Registration and Fitness to Practise functions under a new and single Regulation directorate. This has helped improve resilience and efficiency and provided more flexibility and career development opportunities for staff. 
• The GDC processed a record 11,476 applications, up from the previous high of 8,979 in 2015. In addition, processing times improved across most registration routes. However, a backlog of overseas dentist applications for dental hygienist or therapist registration remained, which the GDC continues to focus on throughout 2024. 
• The GDC increased the number of caseworkers in late 2022 which helped speed up the fitness to practise processes. This contributed to a 31% reduction in the overall caseload at the end of 2023 compared in 2022. 
• Legislative changes allowed the GDC to consult on and make new rules governing its international registration processes. 
• The GDC developed an engagement programme of webinars targeted at overseas qualified dental professionals who are new to UK practice, to help them understand what it means to work in a regulated profession. 

 

NURSING & MIDWIFERY COUNCIL (NMC)

Independent culture review published

 

On 9 July, the NMC apologised and promised action after an independent review of its culture highlighted safeguarding concerns, and found that people working in the organisation have experienced racism, discrimination and bullying.

The NMC commissioned Nazir Afzal OBE and Rise Associates to carry out the review after concerns were raised about the organisation’s culture, including racism and fear of speaking up. Over 1,000 current and former NMC colleagues, plus more than 200 panel members who sit on fitness to practise hearings, shared their lived experiences as part of the review. The NMC accepts the report’s recommendations.

The report found a link between the NMC’s regulatory performance and its culture. In particular, the ongoing challenges with the high fitness to practise caseload were found to have put some of the NMC’s staff under immense pressure. As well as following through on the report’s recommendations, the NMC promised it will continue to deliver its £30m, 18-month plan to make a step change in fitness to practise.

You can read the report here.

The NMC published its Annual Report and Accounts, Annual Fitness to Practise (FtP) Report and equality and diversity data for the past year.

You can read its full response here, which looks at what the regulator has done and the work ahead.

 

Legal

SRA

SRA consults on updates to financial penalty regime

 

The SRA is consulting on proposals to update its approach to issuing financial penalties to law firms and solicitors.

The proposed changes take account of both the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act granting the regulator unlimited fining powers in cases of economic crime, and learnings since its current approach to levying fines was introduced in 2023.

To ensure transparency when issuing fines, the SRA says it is proposing amendments to its band-based approach to determining specific penalties. These involve the introduction of new fining bands for more serious misconduct and some changes to process by which the SRA calculates which fining band a given case may fall under. The SRA is also proposing changes to its published fining guidance to make clear that once fine levels have been determined, they will be further increased by the amount of any financial gain that resulted from the misconduct.

You can read more on the financial penalties consultation here.

Board gives go-ahead for CILEX change

The Board of the SRA has agreed it would regulate Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) members, if CILEX decides to redelegate this to the SRA. The SRA's analysis found that there would be public interest benefits to it regulating all CILEX members. It would simplify the complex regulatory landscape, making it easier for consumers to navigate, and it would bring more consistent standards and levels of protection.

If CILEX decides it would like to go ahead, a decision to redelegate would then need approval from the Legal Services Board.

The SRA has set out in a statement more detail on why the change would be in the public interest, as well as responses to issues raised through consultation. It has also published minutes and Board papers from its meeting on 25 June where the decision was made.

More information, including the statement and Board minutes and papers, can be found here.

The Bar Council

Harriet Harman KC to lead independent review of bullying and harassment at the Bar

 

The Bar Council has appointed the Rt Hon Harriet Harman KC to chair the independent review of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, at the Bar. The independent review was commissioned by the Bar Council following its report into experiences of bullying and harassment which found that 44% of respondents had experienced or witnessed bullying, harassment or discrimination in the previous two years – an increase on the previous survey results.

The review will seek to identify the reasons for the unacceptable levels of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, at the Bar. It will consider the impact of these behaviours, the efficacy of current measures to counter this problem, reporting mechanisms, support services, and, most importantly, it will identify solutions. The review will take evidence from a wide range of sources and meet with members of the Bar across all circuits.

More details can be read here.

 

BSB

The BSB publishes its 2024 statistics report on Bar course enrolment, results, and student progression by course provider

 

The annual report covers the period from July 2023 to June 2024 and contains statistics on enrolment, results and trends in vocational training to become a barrister, and student progression onto pupillage in England and Wales. The report shows the differences in the costs of different Bar courses and in the pass rates for students at different institutions. It also shows the relationship between the class of students’ first degree and their likelihood to obtain pupillage. It provides prospective barristers with information about the different Bar training providers at which they may be considering studying. 

Further statistics on overall trends in Bar training costs, enrolment, results, and progression are published annually in a separate report available on the BSB’s website here.

 

Finance

 

FRC

FRC welcomes government legislation to modernise regulatory toolkit

 

The FRC welcomed the Government’s announcement of draft legislation in the new parliamentary session to modernise its powers and strengthen the transparency and integrity of the UK’s corporate governance, financial reporting and audit.

In His Majesty the King’s speech to Parliament setting out the Government’s agenda for its first session, new legislation was announced to strengthen audit and corporate governance to provide investors, employees and consumers with greater confidence in the health of UK companies.

The Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill will put the FRC on a statutory footing through the establishment of the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA), building on the FRC’s transformation in recent years into a more robust and effective regulator and its remit to support the UK’s economic growth and international competitiveness.

The FRC’s response can be read here.

FRC restructure creates new Market Intelligence and Digital Reporting Functions

The FRC announced on 8 July 2024 that following a strategic review of its economic analysis, data analysis, research and market monitoring functions, existing resources have been reorganised into two newly structured teams to enable delivery of better stakeholder outcomes across the FRC’s remit and regulatory scope. These two new functions are Market Intelligence and Insights, and Digital Reporting and Taxonomies. The work previously undertaken by FRC Lab on reporting and market insights will be absorbed into these new functions.

The Market Intelligence & Insights function, will focus on providing more comprehensive, evidence-based analysis and insights across the FRC’s policy development, monitoring and regulatory activities. Separately, the new Digital Reporting & Taxonomies function has been established, reflecting the importance of these rapidly evolving areas. It will focus on building the FRC’s knowledge and capability, improving the quality of digital reporting, and developing tools to support the reporting ecosystem.

 

FCA

FCA calls on firms to improve treatment of politically exposed persons (PEPs)

 

The FCA has told financial firms – including banks, payment firms and lenders – to do more to ensure parliamentarians, senior public servants and their families are not treated unfairly.  

There have been concerns about how firms in the UK are meeting these requirements and so the FCA has reviewed how firms are treating PEPs.

The FCA found that most firms in its review did not subject PEPs to excessive or disproportionate checks and none would deny them an account based on their status. However, the FCA said all firms could improve. The regulator has told firms that they should:

• ensure their definition of a PEP, family member or close associate is tightened to the minimum required by law and not go beyond that
• review the status of PEPs and their associates promptly once they leave public office
• communicate to PEPs effectively and in line with the Consumer Duty, explaining the reasons for their actions where possible
• effectively consider the actual level of risk posed by the customer, and ensure that information requests are proportionate to those risks
• improve the training offered to staff who deal with PEPs

More detail on this can be read here.

 

ICAEW

The ICAEW has commented on the public sector finance release for June 2024 published by the Office for National Statistics on 19 July 2024.

 

The ICAEW’s Director of Public Sector and Taxation, Alison Ring OBE FCA, has said: 'This is the first set of public sector finance data since the new government was elected, and today’s numbers set out the size of the obstacle the UK’s leaders face.

'£14.5bn was borrowed to finance the deficit in June, which although £3.2bn less than in June 2023, brought the total for the first three months of the financial year to £49.8bn, slightly worse than expectations. The latest numbers also highlighted the growing amount of public debt, which stood at 99.5% of GDP or £2,740bn on 30 June 2024. Although total debt interest was lower than last year because of the effect of lower inflation on inflation-linked debt, interest on the bulk of debt continues to rise.

'The high level of debt – and the associated interest bill – means that the new Prime Minister and Chancellor will be faced with some very difficult decisions over the coming months as they decide which elements of their programme to prioritise, and which will have to wait.'

 

Student

 

OIA

The OIA has published a casework note as well as case summaries of complaints relating to postgraduate students

 

The casework note sets out some of the issues the OIA has seen in complaints from postgraduate students, and identifies some areas of good practice. The case summaries illustrate the types of complaints the OIA sees from postgraduate students.

The OIA’s findings reported some differences in the complaints it sees from taught postgraduate students and postgraduate research students, which is set out in the casework note. It also found there were barriers to raising concerns, particularly for postgraduate research students.

Annual Statements 2023

The OIA published its Annual Statements for 2023 for higher education providers that are members of the OIA Scheme. The Annual Statements include information by provider on the number of complaints the OIA received and the type and outcomes of complaints it considered in 2023. The Statements also include some information on providers’ engagement with the OIA during the year.