Policy responses and statements

Name of organisation:

Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE)

Name of policy document:

Council member and chair appointments to professional regulatory bodies: Consultation on role of Professional Standards Authority in advising the Privy Council

Deadline for response:

8 August 2012

Background: CHRE was consulting on changes arising from the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Section 227 of the Act alters some of the arrangements by which council members and chairs of regulatory bodies are appointed. Under these new arrangements:

• The regulators will manage the appointment process, on behalf of the Privy Council
• The decision to appoint an individual to a regulatory body council, as a member or as the Chair, remains with the Privy Council.
• CHRE, as the Professional Standards Authority, will advise the Privy Council about the process the regulator has used.

CHRE was therefore consulting on how the Authority will carry out this advisory role. The consultation paper describes how CHRE thinks this process should work and questions are posed throughout the paper.

CHRE's approach will be based on high-level principles, good practice guidance, and scrutiny of information from the regulators at agreed stages in the appointments process.

This new arrangement applies to eight professional regulators in health and social care:

• General Chiropractic Council (GCC)
• General Dental Council (GDC)
• General Medical Council (GMC)
• General Optical Council (GOC)
• General Osteopathic Council (GOsC)
• General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)3
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

The arrangements outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 do not apply to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and the Authority will have no role advising on appointments to their council.

Download Council member and chair appointments to professional regulatory bodies RESPONSE as a .pdf

Copies of this response are available from:

Lesley Lockhart,
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh,
9 Queen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1JQ.

Tel: 0131 225 7324 ext 608
Fax: 0131 220 3939

[12 Jr 2012]