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The Authority publishes its performance review of the General Chiropractic Council for 2020/21

01 Dec 2021

The Professional Standards Authority has published its annual performance review of the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) for 2020/21. We review each of the statutory health and social care regulators each year to assess whether they are meeting our Standards of Good Regulation. At the time of assessment, the GCC’s register includes almost 3,400 chiropractors in the UK.

We have assessed the GCC’s performance against our Standards of Good Regulation. For this review period, covering 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, the GCC has met 17 out of 18 of the Standards. The judgements we make against each Standard incorporate a range of evidence to form an overall picture of performance. Meeting a Standard means that, based on the information we have reviewed, we are satisfied that a regulator is performing well in that area.

The GCC did not meet Standard 3 because we considered it had not yet embedded thinking around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) into all aspects of its work. For example, it could have made better use of the EDI data it held regarding applicants for committee membership and registrants subject to fitness to practise complaints; the data indicated some potential differences which we thought the GCC should have identified and reflected on.

You can find out more about how we reached our decision in our Performance Review - GCC 2020/21 or read a summary in our snapshot.

ENDS

Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk

Notes to the Editor

  1. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
  2. We assess their performance and report to Parliament. We also conduct audits and investigations and can appeal fitness to practise cases to the courts if we consider that sanctions are insufficient to protect the public and it is in the public interest.
  3. We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them.
  4. We share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and introduce new ideas to our sector. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice on issues relating to professional standards in health and social care.
  5. We do this to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of users of health and social care services and the public. We are an independent body, accountable to the UK Parliament.
  6. The General Chiropractic Council regulates chiropractors in the United Kingdom. Its work includes: setting and maintaining standards and codes of conduct for the chiropractic profession; maintaining a register of qualified professionals; assuring the quality of chiropractic education and training; and acting to restrict or remove from practice registrants who are considered not fit to practise. As at 31 March 2021, the GCC was responsible for a register of 3,385 chiropractors. The initial fee for registration is £750 for the first year; its annual retention fee is £800; and there is a reduced fee of £100 for those who register as non-practising.
  7. Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
  8. More information about our work and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk