Appendix 4
S.I. 2004/258: memorandum from
the Privy Council Office
General Optical Council (Registration and Enrolment
(Amendment) Rules) Order of Council 2004 (S.I. 2004/258)
1. The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments asked
for an explanation of the reasons for the increase in fees payable
by ophthalmic and dispensing opticians to the General Optical
Council (GOC), and for how much longer it is anticipated that
above-inflation increases will be imposed. There is an 18% increase
from April 2004 which would take the annual registration fee to
£135.
2. The GOC faces the same cost pressures as other
regulators of health care professions, which have had to make
major increases in their registration fees, with Parliament's
approval, in recent years (for example the General Medical Council
and General Dental Council). The GOC has succeeded in maintaining
its fee level substantially below that charged by similar professions,
as the table shows:
| 2002 registration fee
| 2003 registration fee
|
| General Optical Council
| £105
| £115
|
| General Medical Council
| £290
| £290
|
| General Dental Council
| £135
| £300
|
| Royal Pharmaceutical Soc.
| £186
| £195
|
3. The main pressures above general inflation are the impact of
the Human Rights Act on the GOC's fitness to practise work and
the need to modernise processes more generally to comply with
the Government's requirements after the Kennedy Report Learning
from Bristol.
4. The impact of Human Rights has changed fundamentally
the working of the GOC's Disciplinary Committee. Legal costs have
increased not only to reflect caseload but also to reflect the
increased length of cases as they are defended more vigorously.
These costs will increase again next year when a larger number
of panels will start to work. There has been a constant steady
increase in the work of the Disciplinary Committee. The schedule
of days required for hearings has increased from 8 days (2002/03)
to 30 days (2003 /04). In 2004/05, it is expected that 38 days
will be required.
5. The GOC also needs to maintain reserve funds to
finance major legal cases. At present Reserves are below the benchmark
50% of income - and would be severely challenged in the event
of a judicial review.
6. The GOC has worked hard to limit its expenses
to those strictly necessary to carry out the activities required
of it by the Opticians Act 1989 and compliance with all other
relevant legislation. As such it cannot now absorb cost pressures
internally and has to pass them on in higher registration fees.
As examples of its lean approach to running costs, the overheads
of building costs are negligible given that it has a 900 year
lease at less than a thousand pounds a year; all services have
been subjected to external tender, for instance the legal contract
is being tendered for again at this time, and the staffing level
in 2002 was thirteen people; a level that had been constant for
some five years (it has since risen to 16).
7. For the immediate future, the GOC is preparing
to complete the changes just outlined. Specifically, it needs
to establish a mandatory Continuing Education and Training Scheme.
It is intended to establish this in 2004 and operate it from 1
January 2005. Costs are also associated with updating the Fitness
to Practise structure, recruiting 40 new members of the Fitness
to Practise Committee. Their induction and training will occur
during Spring / Summer 2004 to ensure that they are fully prepared
to undertake the Committee role once the Opticians Act (Amendment)
Order currently under preparation is made. These are new projects
for the GOC and much preparatory work is required to ensure that
appropriate frameworks and guidelines are established. The increase
in the fees will help to support the costs borne in the early
developmental stages.
8. The Department of Health accepted the GOC's case
and recommended the Privy Council to approve the proposed fee
increase. For the future, costs will continue to rise. The GOC
has now started considering the issue of revalidation which will
take much resource during 2004 and 2005 especially if new legislation
is required. This is directly related to the government's acceptance
of the "Kennedy" report and the issues raised by the
Commission for Health Audit and Improvement on clinical governance.
The Department of Health has not been able to make an estimate
of how many more above-inflation increases will be necessary,
but it is sensible to expect an increase in 2005 of roughly the
same order as in 2004.
23 March 2004
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