Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals Consultation

the statute should impose the same appeals process across the regulators, for
example by requiring each regulator to set up a Registration Appeals Committee.
However, this would have resource implications for some regulators and is not in
keeping with our general approach to law reform which would give the regulators
greater autonomy to exercise their statutory functions (see provisional proposal
2-2). Instead, we believe that the statute should provide a broad duty within which
the regulators can establish their own appeals system.
5.82 We therefore propose that the statute should require each regulator to establish
an appeals process when registration applications are refused. Councils would
be given discretion in deciding the precise process it wishes to introduce, subject
to other considerations such as the outcome of consultation (see Part 2). This
could involve the establishment of an appeals panel or committee, or passing the
appeals decision to the Registrar.
5.83 The statute would provide a further right to appeal to a court. We do not consider
that the county court system or the sheriff in Scotland has sufficient experience to
deal with such matters. However, we welcome further views on this point. We
propose that the right to appeal should be to the High Court in England and
Wales, the Court of Session in Scotland, or the High Court in Northern Ireland.
However, a more radical option would be to allow appeals to be considered under
the tribunal structure created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
We welcome views on this option. The unified Tribunal Service is discussed in
more detail in Part 9 (see question 9-3).
Provisional Proposal 5-16: The statute should require each regulator to
establish an appeals process for when registration applications are refused.
The regulators would have broad powers to decide the precise process it
wants to introduce.
Provisional Proposal 5-17: The statute should provide a right of appeal when
registration applications are refused, to the High Court in England and Wales,
the Court of Session in Scotland, and the High Court in Northern Ireland.
PUBLICATION AND UPKEEP OF THE REGISTERS
5.84 The governing legislation often includes detailed provisions which govern the
publication of the registers and allow for the regulators to amend and alter their
registers. Most of the regulators are placed under a duty to publish their registers
periodically. For example, the General Medical Council is required to publish the
register from “time to time”, while the General Chiropractic Council and General
Osteopathic Council must publish the register every 12 months. 55
5.85 The governing legislation also includes general provisions concerning how
registers should be published. For example, the Registrar of the General Dental
Council is required to publish the register in such form, including electronic, as
they consider appropriate. 56 A similar requirement is placed on the General
Optical Council. 57 Most regulators are also required to make the register available
55 Medical Act 1983, s 34, Chiropractors Act 1994, s 9(2) and Osteopaths Act 1993, s 9(2).
56 Dentists Act 1984, s 22.
57 Opticians Act 1989, s 11.
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