Statutory Regulation - Latest Updates

Statutory Regulation Update - 18 December 2008

Dr Liz Campbell
President

The Society Post Statutory Regulation - some initial decisions

1. Earlier this year the Trustees set up a Working Group - the Future Structures Group - to look at governance and other issues that would follow from Statutory Regulation by the HPC given that all the Society’s regulatory functions would disappear.

In the autumn a series of proposals were circulated to all the Society’s Boards and Member Networks, presented to the Representative Council, and at the December meeting of the Trustees the responses were considered and decisions made.

Below is a summary of those decisions. Some of these will require changes to the Society’s Statutes and Rules, and therefore members will have an opportunity to vote on their adoption.

2. The Trustees agreed to:

i) discontinue the Register of Chartered Psychologists from the date of opening of the statutory register;

ii) establish an online searchable membership list available only to members;

iii) from 2010 continue to publish a Directory of Chartered Members (with paid entries) offering the public the facility to search for those offering specific services in a particular area. This will include an online searchable list of all Chartered members, allowing the public to check credentials;

iv) change and simplify the Society’s membership structure; there will be three grades (1) Student (on an accredited course); (2) Graduate (of an accredited course); (3) Chartered (a graduate with Society recognised postgraduate qualifications/experience); there will also be ‘Subscribers’ (those who are interested in the discipline). Existing grades - Hon Fellow, Hon. Life Member, Fellow and Associate Fellow will be changed into awarded titles;

v) change the name of the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR) to the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC);

vi) revise the Code of Conduct/Ethics in the light of the Society’s changed role in relation to fitness to practise;

vii) develop proposals on member conduct procedures;

viii) set up a small working group of the Trustees (Graham Powell, Peter Banister, Graham Turpin) to produce a draft plan for the further development of specialist registers;

ix) convert the Division of Neuropsychology (DoN) member list into a post-qualification register;

x) identify only urgent structural issues, consult with relevant committees as appropriate, and use data obtained from the forthcoming membership survey to formulate specific proposals;

xi) review the governance structure two years after the opening of the statutory register in the light of the Society’s strategic objectives, the efficiency of its operations, and member feedback;

xii) develop a new governance structure for the Society’s educational policy, educational standards and training activities;

xiii) set up a small Working Group of Trustees, led by President-Elect, Sue Gardner, and including the Chair of the Representative Council, Gerry Mulhern, to consider the Member Network structure; the fitness for purpose of the constitution of Representative Council; and, the terms of reference and membership of Standing Committee on the Promotion of Equal Opportunities (SCPEO) and the Ethics Committee, consulting as appropriate to present an appraisal of options;

xiv) examine the fitness for purpose of the constitutions of the Research Board, and the Professional Practice Board, given the increase in member networks represented, which has resulted in very large membership of these bodies;

xv) cease providing the Statement of Equivalence in Clinical Psychology as soon as the HPC becomes the regulator, as legal authority and responsibility for such activity will pass from the Society to the HPC.

3. Recommendations on changes to Governance arising from work outlined above will be disseminated to all the Society’s Boards and Member Networks for comment.

Statutory Regulation - President's Update - 12 November 2008

We have just been informed by the Department of Health (DH) that they expect to table the necessary legislation, the section 60 Order, in both the UK and Scottish Parliaments after the Christmas recess. Westminster returns on Monday 12 January 2009. The DH are still working to an expected implementation date of 1 July 2009.

Dr Liz Campbell

President

Statutory Regulation Update 30 October 2008

My previous update indicated that the necessary legislation to bring about the statutory regulation of psychologists was expected to be tabled in the UK and Scottish Parliaments during October - this has not happened. The latest information from the Department of Health is that the legislation will be tabled during this month, November. The implementation by the Health Professions Council is still expected to be 1 July 2009. As soon as we know that the legislation has been tabled I will bring you the news.

You may recall that earlier this year the Health Professions Council put out two public consultations - one on the 'threshold entry level' and the other on 'standards of proficiency'. We have been pressing them for several months to publish the outcomes but to date they have not emerged. The HPC have informed us recently that they do not intend to publish the analysis until after the legislation has been tabled.

The Statutory Regulation FAQs have now been updated to reflect the last information that we have available.

Dr Liz Campbell
President

Statutory Regulation Update 30 September 2008

The latest information from the Government, the Department of Health (DH), is that they intend to table the legislation to regulate psychologists next month both in Edinburgh and Westminster. Their policy has not changed in that the regulator is the Health Professions Council (HPC). The legislation proposes nine protected adjectival titles (Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, Educational Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, Health Psychologist, Occupational Psychologist, Sport and Exercise Psychologist) and two generic titles (Practitioner Psychologist and Registered Psychologist). Put simply, this means that you would need to be registered with the HPC to practise under one of these titles. We remain convinced that having multiple protected titles will be confusing for the public and allow the untrained and unqualified to practise under other unprotected titles.

If the legislative timetable goes as planned, then the HPC register will open on 1 July 2009 and Those Chartered Psychologists with one of the seven existing adjectival titles and a practising certificate will be automatically transferred onto the Statutory Register. The HPC will then write to them to explain the steps they must take to remain on the Register.

Statutory regulation will bring major changes to the Society. Since 1988, we have been the regulator with all that entails for disciplinary, examinations, CPD , accreditation and competent authority functions. Many of these functions will have to change and this provides an opportunity for the Society to fully consider what type of organisation it wants to be in the future.

We have recently had a consultation with all the member networks about more immediate post regulation matters; for instance it is proposed that the 'Chartered Psychologist' title will become a grade of membership. This obviously has implications for how we accredit postgraduate training courses as one routes for entry into that grade. Other aspects of our functioning (disciplinary affairs, recognition of overseas practitioners, etc.) will clearly have to pass to the HPC.

Honorary officers and staff continue to meet with the HPC to clarify outstanding operational issues. We are still awaiting the HPC’s response to their two consultations on Standards of Proficiency and the entry level for their register. Because we do not have their responses to these yet, we cannot finalise our own internal operational plan.

I will let you have any more news as soon as I am able. Please check the Society's website regularly for further updates.



Dr Liz Campbell
President

Statutory Regulation Update 7 August 2008

The last few weeks have been very busy and fast moving on the Statutory Regulation front.

We have had a very constructive meeting with the Health Professions Council; we have received two revised drafts of the Section 60 Order (the draft legislation); and we have had a joint meeting with the Department of Health, Scottish Executive, Health Professions Council and the Association of Educational Psychologists to undertake a line-by-line discussion of the revised draft legislation. These drafts have been seen by our lawyers, our Division Chairs, Representative Council and the Trustees.

The result of all this activity is contained in a letter sent to the Department of Health today. I have chosen not to summarise that letter here as I feel it is essential that you see the full wording. As you will see much progress has been made although there are still issues on which further discussion and negotiation is required.

Also linked to this note is the latest draft of the legislation and a note from the Department of Health lawyer, Michael Adam, which details the changes made from one draft to the latest.

It is anticipated that the legislation will be tabled in Westminster and Edinburgh in early October, that it will become law before Christmas and that the Health Professions Council will open the register in the late spring of 2009.

Once we have more detail I will contact you either by letter or by this means. As ever if you have any detailed queries please do not hesitate to contact me via email: president@bps.org.uk.

Dr Liz Campbell
President

Health Care and Associated Professions (Misc Amendments) (No_ 2) Order 2008 (DRAFT)

Notes from Michael Adam (DH lawyer) 25 July 08

Letter from Liz Campbell to Michel Adam (DH lawyer) 6 Aug 08

Archive

• View archive of older Statutory Regulation information and correspondence