GDC consulting on not changing the ARF
- Details
- Published: Tuesday, 13 October 2015 07:22
- Written by News Editor
- Hits: 3930
The General Dental Council (GDC) has launched a consultation on the level of its Annual Retention Fee (ARF) in 2016, which they are proposing should remain the same as in 2015. Chief Executive Evlynne Gilvary said the GDC was committed to being ‘a transparent regulator’ which included setting out what is funded by the ARF. The consultation closes on November 3.
BDA’s view
The British Dental Association (BDA) has responded vigourously to the launch of new consultation from the General Dental Council, suggesting a freeze in professional fees. It said the GDC remains the most expensive healthcare regulator in the UK – at £890 its annual retention fee is more than twice the average professional fee – and it was recently identified as the worst performing regulator by the Professional Standards Authority in its Annual Performance Review.
Mick Armstrong, Chair of the British Dental Association said: “Today the General Dental Council has announced a consultation on not changing their fees. We hope they aren’t expecting us to take any comfort from this, as for 40,000 dentists ‘business as usual’ means another year shackled to the most expensive, and least effective health regulator in Britain. This latest announcement shows nothing has changed. Dentists are still paying double the average for UK health professionals. Registrants are still on the receiving end of the same one-sided conversation from a cavalier regulator, which continues to ignore its own failings. What we’ve not seen is any real willingness from a failed regulator to get on top of its day job, and to finally draw a line under years of mission creep. For our part we will be subjecting these numbers to forensic scrutiny. We encourage all colleagues to have their say, so we can see what GDC’s commitment to ‘transparency’ and ‘openness’ really means.”
GDC’s view
The General Dental Council (GDC) has launched a consultation on the level of its Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for dentists and dental care professionals in 2016. While proposing that the ARF levels remain the same as in 2015, the GDC is taking this opportunity to conduct an exceptional consultation to:
• Set out the financial and other information on which the proposal is based;
• Seek views on the proposed level of the fees.
The GDC wants to be transparent about its resources and how it uses them. This exceptional consultation is an opportunity to set out clearly how the ARF – its main source of revenue – will fund its work in 2016.
The GDC’s work includes setting standards for the education and training of dental professionals and the care they provide to patients. We register professionals who are suitably qualified and we investigate complaints to assess whether conduct and/or care has fallen below our standards and take appropriate action where necessary. We work to ensure that the high levels of public confidence in dentistry are maintained.
Image credit - Dave McClear under CC licence - not modified.
You need to be logged in to leave comments.
Report