PSA publishes 2024/25 performance review of the General Optical Council

The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) has published its annual performance review of the General Optical Council (GOC) for the 2024/25 period, confirming that the regulator met all 18 Standards of Good Regulation.

Overall assessment

The PSA conducted a periodic review of the GOC’s performance and found the regulator to be meeting expectations across every Standard. The Authority emphasised that meeting a Standard indicates strong performance, though it does not imply perfection or the absence of areas for improvement.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

In 2024, the PSA introduced a new approach to assessing regulators against its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Standard. Regulators must now demonstrate delivery of four high‑level outcomes supported by an evidence matrix.
The GOC was judged to have met the EDI Standard, with the PSA noting the regulator’s continued commitment and the absence of significant gaps. The PSA highlighted the GOC’s new *Care of patients in vulnerable circumstances* guidance as good practice, particularly its recognition that vulnerability can arise from changing circumstances rather than fixed characteristics.

Education and training

The GOC met Standard 9, with no evidence that students or trainees were failing to meet registration requirements. However, stakeholder feedback pointed to concerns about the proportionality and transparency of the GOC’s quality assurance processes.
The PSA acknowledged that the education sector is undergoing significant change as the GOC transitions to new education and training requirements, which may explain some of the feedback. Nonetheless, similar concerns have been raised in previous years. The GOC accepted that performance in some areas had fallen short and reported that work was already underway to improve consistency and efficiency. The PSA will continue to monitor progress.

Fitness to practise

The PSA audited a sample of GOC fitness to practise cases closed during the review period. While most cases showed timely investigations, reasonable closure decisions and appropriate risk management, the PSA identified several areas requiring improvement:

– Some triage closures were premature or inappropriate.
– Risk assessments were inconsistently completed and sometimes resembled case summaries rather than risk analyses.
– Parties were not always kept updated during investigations.
– Internal management controls did not appear to detect or address these issues.

Most premature closures related to low‑level concerns that could have been managed locally. Given that investigations were generally adequate and risks were handled appropriately, the PSA concluded that the GOC still met all Fitness to Practise Standards. The GOC has implemented an action plan in response to the audit findings, and the PSA will monitor its impact.

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