Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that degrees awarded by the Open University are recognised as professional qualifications by the (a) Health and Care Professions Council and (b) British Psychological Society.

No such assessment has been made by the Department. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which is independent of Government, is the statutory regulator of practitioner psychologists and 14 other professions in the United Kingdom. As part of this responsibility, the HCPC is required by law to set the standards of education, training, and practice for practitioner psychologists, and the other professions it regulates.

Approved education institutions and practice partners develop the specific content and design of programmes to meet the HCPC’s education and training standards. The HCPC approves and monitors training programmes to ensure that they meet its standards. The HCPC’s legislation requires that UK trained applicants to its register must hold an approved qualification.

It would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in the design of standards of education and training, or the design of the curricula to meet those standards. This is to respect the independence and expertise of the HCPC and education institutions in designing standards and curricula that ensure public safety.

There are a number of different postgraduate options to train as a psychologist. The British Psychological Society offers qualifications across a number of domains in psychology, to support individuals in their chosen specialism. Completion of one of its qualifications will provide an individual with eligibility to become a Chartered Psychologist.