Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the (a) Health and Care Professions Council and (b) Nursing and Midwifery Council on reducing the fees paid by medical professionals for registration and replacing those fees with Government funding.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC’s regulatory activities are primarily funded by annual registration fees, currently set at £120 per year.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is the independent regulator of 15 professions in the UK, including paramedics, practitioner psychologists and occupational therapists. The HCPC’s regulatory activities are primarily funded by annual registration fees, currently set at £90 per year.

There are no registration fees for any healthcare professionals joining the NMC or HCPC temporary register.

While we currently have no plans to subsidise the annual registration fees of existing NMC and HCPC registrants, we are considering how to recognise the incredible work that healthcare staff are doing to support the collective effort to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of this, we will be engaging with staff and employers.