The Health & Care Professions Council have launched a consultation on proposed changes to the fees they charge registrants and applicants. They are proposing a 6% increase on the current fee which means if approved, the new annual registration fee will be £123.34 and would come into effect from 2025 to 2027.
The new fee is subject to legislative approval by the UK and Scottish Parliaments and would be phased in from 2025 at the earliest and then implemented over the two-year renewal cycle. This will mean that a significant number of registrants will not pay the new fee until 2026 or 2027
The HCPC have said that they need to maintain their financial sustainability and ensure they have the funding required to effectively discharge their statutory duties to protect the public. This increase is also required to continue funding initiatives to provide an enhanced user experience for HCPC registrants and all those who interact with the HCPC.
Commenting on the proposed changes, our Director of Movement Building and Membership, Karin Bishop said:
While we acknowledge the HCPC’s reasons for proposing a fee increase, we strongly oppose this. Occupational therapists’ pay has not increased by the same proportion and an increase will be severely detrimental to our professional workforce. It will do nothing to attract more people to occupational therapy and other Allied Health Professions (AHPs), that are experiencing low staffing levels, and will be another pressure for AHPs who are already being squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis. We urge the HCPC to explore alternative funding models.
We encourage you to take part in this consultation – by contacting HCPC directly or contributing to our response.
You can share your views with us by emailing the Professional Advisory Service by 5pm on Friday 31 May 2024: professional.advisoryservice@rcot.co.uk
Information about the proposal can be found on the HCPC website. The consultation will close at 11.59pm on Friday 14 June 2024.