www.gdc-uk.org
BY EMAIL
Emma Ideson
ID Communciations
06 October 2014
Dear Ms Ideson,
Thank you for your letter of 6 August 2014.
As with the previous response dated 12 August, what I say below is intended for circulation to all the
LDCs who were signatories to your letter.
The GDC does regularly meet our stakeholders and we have certainly listened to the concerns the LDCs
have raised. These have also been considered as response to the consultation on the level of the
Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for 2015.
However, to address the points you make;
1. I do not believe that the resignation of any of our executive positions would benefit the GDC or
our registrants. We are working collectively to improve the performance of the organisation and to
focus on the issues pertinent to our registrants and stakeholders.
2. I note the loss of confidence you express however I would like to assure you that we are working
to improve our performance in areas such as our Fitness to Practise function. As you are aware,
we are subject to regular reviews by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) and we openly
publicise their findings relating to our performance. However, their current methodology means
that the most recent improvements we have made in our processes are not always taken into
account in the PSA’s assessments.
3. As of 11 September we have commissioned KPMG to conduct an independent review of the full
range of assumptions underlying the proposal to raise the ARF. This will focus in particular on the
projected fitness to practise caseload. The report from this review will be available to council
members before the 30 October council meeting. The Council’s policy is clear: when the cost of
regulation eventually decreases the ARF will also decrease, since it is based on the cost of
regulation.
4. We are legally obliged to investigate FTP complaints received by us. But as we have emphasised
we support local resolution and we are for example working with NHS England to explore how
they could appropriately deal with particular complaints. We are seeking to analyse the increase
in and pattern of complaints and then together with the sector to review how best they can be
prevented. Our consultation document on the ARF did address the breakdown of regulation costs
for DCPs.
5. Our standards were consulted on recently but we are reviewing these and will take your views
into account.
I thank you once again for contacting me with the concerns of the LDCs represented through your letter.
Yours sincerely,
William Moyes
Chair
37 Wimpole Street London W1G 8DQ
Phone: +44 (0)20 7167 6000 Email: information@gdc-uk.org
Chief Executive and Registrar: Evlynne Gilvarry