Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals Consultation

PART 4
GOVERNANCE
4.1 All of the regulators are governed by General Councils that set policy and
strategy and oversee operational matters. In addition, a considerable body of
administrative staff undertake the day-to-day work of the regulators. At the head
is the Chief Executive, who at most of the regulators is also the Registrar. 1
4.2 This Part of the consultation paper considers the governance arrangements for
the regulators and how this should be provided for in the new statute.
Specifically, this Part considers:
(1) the strategic role of the General Council;
(2) status of the Councils;
(3) the constitution of the Councils;
(4) Council committees; and
(5) powers of delegation.
STRATEGIC ROLE OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL
4.3 Historically, the id entity and role of the General Council was developed during
the era of professional self-regulation (see Part 1). Councils were often large
bodies, sometimes consisting of over 100 members. 2 Seats on the Council were
established to reflect the composition and interests of the profession. This was
achieved initially through systems of nominations; for example, most members of
the original General Medical Council were nominated by the medical Royal
Colleges and the universities. Subsequently, this was achieved through the
election of members by registrants introduced as a result of the Medical Act
1978. A further historical feature is that Council members would often be involved
in operational matters such as adjudicating fitness to practise cases and acting
as health screeners. Thus, Councils were associated with self-regulation and
perceived as unwieldy, lacking independence and not sufficiently focused on
holding the executive to account.
4.4 The White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety led to a programme of reforms
aimed at ensuring that each regulator “has a smaller, more board-like Council
whose members are appointed rather than elected in order to fulfil more
effectively their strategic role”. 3 Consequently, Council members are now
appointed through an independent process; there are equal numbers of
professional and lay members and the size of the Councils has reduced
1
The only exception is the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland where different
personnel undertake these roles.
2 For example, in 2003 there were 104 members of the General Medical Council.
3 Department of Health, Implementing the White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety:
Enhancing Confidence in Healthcare Professional Regulators: Final Report (2008) para
2.2.
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