This consultation considered how the powers to introduce and remove professions from regulation might be used in the future. It seeks views on:

  • the proposed criteria to make decisions on which professions should be regulated
  • whether there are regulated professions that no longer require statutory regulation
  • whether there are unregulated professions that should be brought into statutory regulation

The General Chiropractic Council said in its response:

We would contend that the General Chiropractic Council plays an essential developmental role. It does so through its rigorous graduate entry and education requirements, standards of continuing professional development, establishing guidance alongside a statutory Code of Practice, fostering professionalism, and incentivising integration towards modern health and care expectations. In essence, we are contributing to the development of a less mature yet growing profession to meet the highest standards of healthcare in the UK.

The GCC does this by operating a balanced approach to regulation, encouraging and enforcing standards at all stages of the profession, from stringent Education Standards for students to ever-enhancing CPD requirements for registrants.

On the question of whether “currently regulated professions continue to satisfy the criteria for regulation and should remain subject to statutory regulation”, the GCC said:

The chiropractic profession strongly believes that it should be subject to regulation. The regulatory activities we undertake contribute positively to the safety of the public. Regrettably, we see evidence of the serious effects of poor care and conduct in very small numbers, albeit this is significant for those patients affected.

The public will be keen to see evidence of why a regulated profession has been removed from statutory regulation. We have yet to see any such evidence concerning the profession that Parliament has tasked us to regulate.

All 34 professions under regulation from the current nine regulators have clear and definable roles within the healthcare sector. In addition, regulation provides the public with assurance about the quality and reliability that they expect to see.

Read the full GCC submission.

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