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27-684: The Health and Care Professions Council ( HCPC ), formerly the Health Professions Council ( HPC ), is a statutory regulator of over 280,000 professionals from 15 health and care professions in the United Kingdom. The Council reports its main purpose is to protect the public. It does this by setting and maintaining standards of proficiency and conduct for the professions it regulates. Its key functions include approving education and training programmes which health and care professionals must complete before they can register with

54-627: A regulator has responsibility for regulating both individuals and premises and they make no mention of inspection outcomes. Many of the standards are exclusively focused on individuals; for example, they refer to a “registrant”, which by definition is a person who has registered; a set of premises cannot register itself. It is capable of being registered, but incapable of being a registrant. In addition, references to “fitness to practise” in its standards do not apply to premises, since premises cannot themselves “practise”. Such terms are not used in reference to premises regulation. There are no measures relating to

81-466: A voluntary register does not mean that the PSA endorses a particular approach or therapy. The Authority is not concerned whether any of the methodologies used by societies on this scheme have any scientific validity. It regards the question of scientific veracity as a matter of opinion. The devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all fund the authority, with contributions in line with

108-422: A voluntary scheme where the PSA sets out some standards that are applicable to organisations that deal with occupations that are not statutorily regulated. The PSA accredits organisations that hold voluntary registers, offering a "quality mark" to those that show they have met various standards. In July 2019 there were 25 organisations with voluntary registers that had been given accreditation. Accreditation of

135-535: Is accountable to the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It assesses the performance of each regulator, conducts audits, scrutinises their decisions and reports to Parliament. It seeks to achieve balance in the oversight of regulation through the application of the concept of right-touch regulation. The Health Act 1999 allowed the UK government to more easily change healthcare regulatory arrangements, through orders of

162-527: Is an independent body accountable to the UK Parliament, which promotes the health and well-being of the public and oversees the nine UK healthcare regulators. These are: In 2016, via a Freedom of Information request it was revealed that despite increasing registration costs for healthcare professionals, the HCPC spent over £17,000 on their Christmas party. For 224 attendees, the cost-per-head for one meal

189-435: Is justified by the complexity of certain regulatory and directorial tasks, and the drawbacks of political interference. Some independent regulatory agencies perform investigations or audits , and other may fine the relevant parties and order certain measures. In a number of cases, in order for a company or organization to enter an industry, it must obtain a license to operate from the sector regulator. This license will set out

216-404: Is powered and driven by a sense of corporate social responsibility amongst the advertising industry." Regulatory agencies deal in the areas of administrative law , regulatory law , secondary legislation , and rulemaking (codifying and enforcing rules and regulations, and imposing supervision or oversight for the benefit of the public at large). The existence of independent regulatory agencies

243-526: Is protected by law, including those shown above. Anyone using these titles must be registered with the HCPC. It is a criminal offence for someone to claim that they are registered with the HCPC when they are not, or to use a protected title that they are not entitled to use. If a professional who is registered with them does not meet the standards which are set, the HCPC can take action which might include stopping an individual from practising. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA)

270-575: The Barnett formula . The PSA has no powers to investigate individual complaints about the regulators it oversees, nor to compel them to take any specific action. Its website states “We do not investigate individuals’ complaints about regulators or registers and cannot resolve them for you.” The PSA's focus is on the regulation of individuals – and not premises – though it oversees both the General Pharmaceutical Council and

297-768: The United States and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom ; and, in the case of economic regulation , the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets and the Telecom Regulatory Authority in India . Regulatory agencies may be a part of the executive branch of the government and have statutory authority to perform their functions with oversight from

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324-808: The HCPC and other health professions regulators in the UK (the General Medical Council , Nursing and Midwifery Council , General Dental Council , etc.) is overseen by the Professional Standards Authority . On 2 December 2019, the regulation of social workers in England was transferred to a new body, Social Work England . The HCPC regulates 15 categories of health and care professionals. They are: Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) All these professions have at least one designated title that

351-862: The HCPC; and maintaining and publishing a Register of health and care providers who meet predetermined professional requirements and standards of practice. On 1 April 2002, the Health Professions Council replaced the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine (CPSM) which had been established in 1960. By 2005, thirteen protected titles were regulated by the HPC: arts therapists; biomedical scientists; chiropodists/podiatrists; clinical scientists; dieticians; occupational therapists; operating department practitioners; orthoptists; paramedics; physiotherapists; prosthetists and orthotists; radiographers; and speech and language therapists. In July 2010,

378-479: The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, which both have responsibility for premises regulation. Its website states: “We help to protect the public by improving the regulation and registration of people who work in health and care.” As such, there is a significant gap in the oversight of pharmacy premises regulation in the UK. The PSA's Standards of Good Regulation are accordingly focused on

405-736: The Privy Council. The Kennedy report into the Bristol heart scandal was published in July 2001 and plans for a body to oversee the regulation of healthcare professionals in the UK quickly followed. The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence was set up under the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 and renamed the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) in 2004. The CHRE

432-413: The conditions by which the companies or organizations operating within the industry must abide. Regulatory regimes vary by country and industry. In the most light-touch forms of regulation, regulatory agencies are typically charged with overseeing a defined industry. Usually they will have two general tasks: In the event that the regulated company is not in compliance with its license obligations or

459-546: The decision was taken to transfer the professional regulation of social workers to the Health Professions Council, which was renamed the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The regulation of social workers moved to the HCPC on 1 August 2012 under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 . The General Social Care Council (GSCC) – which previously regulated social workers – was abolished on 31 July 2012. The strap line that they use

486-697: The law, the regulatory agency may be empowered to: In some instances, it is deemed in the public interest (by the legislative branch of government) for regulatory agencies to be given powers in addition to the above. This more interventionist form of regulation is common in the provision of public utilities , which are subject to economic regulation . In this case, regulatory agencies have powers to: The functions of regulatory agencies in prolong "collaborative governance" provide for generally non-adversarial regulation. Ex post actions taken by regulatory agencies can be more adversarial and involve sanctions, influencing rulemaking , and creating quasi-common law. However,

513-485: The legislative branch. Their actions are often open to legal review . However, some regulatory bodies are industry-led initiatives rather than statutory agencies, and are called 'voluntary organisations'. They may be not-for-profit organisations or limited companies. They derive their authority from members' commitments to abide by the standards applied by the regulator, for instance as the UK's Advertising Standards Authority says "The self-regulation system works because it

540-422: The number of international applications for registration increased in 2021, the HCPC was criticised for the increasing length of time taken to process these applications. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care , which oversees the HCPC, reported that by mid-2022 the median time for the HCPC to reach a first decision on international applications was over 90 weeks. The PSA considered that this

567-403: The regulation of individuals and not premises. Its website claims untruthfully that “The Standards cover all aspects of the regulators’ work including where the regulator has responsibility for businesses and premises as well as individuals.” The standards contain no specific mention of premises; none of the individual standards are focused on premises; they do not invite separation of results where

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594-480: The roles of regulatory agencies as "regulatory monitors" provide a vital function in administering law and ensuring compliance. Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care ( PSA ), formerly the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence ( CHRE ) and the Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals , oversees

621-408: The ten statutory bodies that regulate health professionals in the United Kingdom and social care in England. Where occupations are not subject to statutory regulation, it sets standards for those organisations that hold voluntary registers and accredits those that meet them. Until 30 November 2012 it was known as the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE). It is an independent body, which

648-435: Was also changed to "Regulating health, psychological and social work professionals" which was considered better suited to describe the diversity of professionals that they regulate. The HCPC has also reported it was being accorded new powers to set up voluntary registers for unregulated professions or related professions, including students seeking to enter a regulated or unregulated profession or related occupation. The work of

675-502: Was serious, "given that the delays could seriously affect applicants and aggravate workforce shortages in the NHS". Statutory regulator These are customarily set up to strengthen safety and standards, and/or to protect consumers in markets where there is a lack of effective competition . Examples of regulatory agencies that enforce standards include the Food and Drug Administration in

702-596: Was succeeded by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, which was set up under section 222 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 . The Authority covers the 10 statutory bodies that regulate health professionals in the UK and social workers in England: The Authority also has a role in encouraging the upkeep of standards in practitioners that are not subject to regulation. Accredited registers are

729-462: Was £76.12, comparable to the yearly registration costs for many workers. After the registration of social workers was transferred to Social Work England, the HCPC's registrants fell by approximately 100,000; the new total of 281,000 represented a fall of around 26%. Despite their workload decreasing, it was found through an FOI request in 2020 that the HCPC had not made any redundancies in their organisation and were increasing registration costs. After

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