HCPC October Update
HCPC Sexual Safety Hub
A new sexual safety hub has now been launched on the HCPC website. They have created this online resource to provide further support to victims, survivors and witnesses of sexual misconduct, harassment and abuse.
The hub draws together new and existing resources to support members of the public, those working within health and social care, education providers and employers. The new materials build on the existing support provided by us over previous years and are the result of work with victims and survivors.
The additional support comes alongside recent analysis of the HCPC fitness to practise data from 2023-24 which shows that:
- 1 in 12 concerns raised with the HCPC about health and care professionals mentioned sexual misconduct or sexual offences;
- 13 out of 15 professions regulated by the HCPC had concerns about sexual misconduct or criminality; and
- there is a higher risk presented by male practitioners and that risk generally increased with age.
HCPC Council agrees fee rise proposal
The HCPC Council has decided to proceed with proposals to increase the fees that registrants pay. This decision follows an extensive consultation with registrants, professional bodies, trade unions, and the general public between April and June 2024.
The Council’s intention, subject to the necessary legislative approvals, is to increase the annual registration fee to £123.34, an extra £6.98 per year. The proposed increase is the minimum amount necessary to continue to fund our programme of critical investments, including:
- Maintaining delivery of statutory registration, fitness to practise, education, and other regulatory responsibilities within performance standards. This has become crucial given a 26% increase in FTP volumes – an experience in line with most other healthcare regulators.
- Making essential improvements over the next three years, including enhancing our registration and education services, contributing to decision-making on the future of the health and care workforce, and supporting the continuous professional development of our registrants.
They would not expect to introduce the increase until 2025, and because of the nature of our registrant renewal cycles, the majority of our registrants will not start paying it until 2026 or 2027.
Changes to HCPC English language requirements for applicants via our international route
In May 2024, the HCPC Council approved the principle of changing our English language proficiency requirements for new applicants to the Register. This followed a lengthy consultation period; thank you to all those who submitted views and evidence to the consultation.
The new system will come into effect on Wednesday 29 January 2025.
From that date:
- international applicants will no longer be able to self-declare English as their first language as a way of meeting HCPC requirements;
- a ‘qualifying countries list’ will be in effect, meaning those who gained their primary qualification in a country on the list will be able to use this to evidence their proficiency; and
- all other international applicants will have to evidence their language ability via an approved test.
Applications to join the Register submitted via the international route from the launch date will be subject to the changed requirements above.
The HCPC expect to publish the list of qualifying countries and approved test providers, as well as the criteria for prospective test providers, by December 2024.
Tax relief for registrants – a simplified system
The HCPC has been working to make it easier for registrants to claim tax relief on their registration fees, and manage aspects of their own registration. They are pleased to confirm that registrants can now download a general payment receipt via their online account.
This new functionality comes after analysis of enquiries to the Registration team, which indicated that many registrants would be helped by this.
More information is available via their Access your general payment receipt page.
Using the payment receipt to claim back tax
To make a claim for tax relief, registrants need to have proof of an eligible payment that they made – and the general payment receipt can provide that proof. We have some new support available online about claiming back tax which we recommend reading.
Other available downloads
We’re also pleased to confirm that all registrants can download a confirmation of their current registration status from their online account. This is also known as a certificate of current professional status (CCPS) or letter of good standing. To learn more, including information on how to download it, head to the confirmation of registration status page.
Whistleblowing report
In collaboration with eight other professional health and care regulators, the HCPC have published the Whistleblowing disclosures report for 2024. The report details whistleblowing concerns raised in each organisation.
Seven whistleblowing disclosures were made to the HCPC during the financial year 2023/24. They regularly review disclosures to see whether they need to improve any of their publicly available information, including guidance on their standards.