The Department of Health (DoH) has written to the dental industry explaining that it will be unable to intervene in the campaign to reform the General Dental Council (GDC).
Some sections of the profession have been angling for large-scale changes in the GDC, after the regulatory body proposed increasing the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for dentists by 64%.Dental nurses would see their fees rise by 6%.
You can read our guide to the GDC and the ARF here.
The letter, published on the website Dentistry.co.uk, will come as a blow to campaigners, who had hoped that the DoH might intervene on their behalf.
In it, the DoH explains that:
“the GDC is an independent body and, therefore, it is for the GDC to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration.
The proposed fee increase is subject to public consultation where the GDC’s case will be scrutinised.
The Department of Health does not usually contribute to such consultations.”
It went on to say that professional regulators, including the GDC, should not raise fees beyond current levels unless there is “a clear business case that any increase is necessary”.
The consultation on the ARF level for 2015 will remain open until 4 September. If you’d like to make your voice heard, you can do so on the GDC’s website.