Tim Spencer-Lane breaks down the consultation on health care regulation
The Law Commission has recently launched a consultation on the regulation of health care professionals in the UK and social workers in England. The regulatory bodies covered by the review include the General Medical Council, General Dental Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Health Professions Council and General Social Care Council. The project is the first trilateral joint project between the Law Commission, Scottish Law Commission and Northern Ireland Law Commission (see http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/consultations/1755.htm).
Wide variety of legal frameworks
The regulators operate within a wide variety of legal frameworks which have been agreed and amended by Parliament in different ways and at different times over the past 150 years. A complex legislative landscape has evolved on a piecemeal basis, resulting in a wide range of idiosyncrasies and inconsistency in the powers, duties and responsibilities of each of the regulators. The proposed structure would consist of a single Act of Parliament to provide the legal framework for the regulators (as well as the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence). In effect, all the existing
