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Health Committee, scrutiny, Health Committee to scrutinise the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Scrutiny of the Health and Care Professions Council

27 November 2013

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The Health Committee is today announcing arrangements for its accountability hearing with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

The Committee proposes to take evidence as follows:

Evidence hearing

Tuesday 7 January 2014
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

There is no formal call for evidence for this hearing, but the Committee would be pleased to receive written submissions on the work of the HCPC in advance of the hearing.

Written evidence must be submitted via the web portal and the deadline for submitting written evidence is midday on Monday 16 December 2013 (please note that the portal will close shortly after the deadline).

Further details of the session will be announced in due course.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is an independent statutory regulator of 319,637 individuals across 16 health, psychological and social work professions (figure correct as at 1 November 2013).

These are: arts therapists; biomedical scientists; clinical scientists; chiropodists / podiatrists; dietitians; hearing aid dispensers; occupational therapists; operating department practitioners; orthoptists; paramedics; physiotherapists; prosthetists / orthotists; practitioner psychologists; radiographers; social workers in England; and speech and language therapists.

The HCPC was established by Parliament under the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001.

Its main objective is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of persons using or needing the services of its registrants and it does this by:

  • setting and maintaining standards for professional skills and conduct;
  • maintaining a register of professionals who meet these standards;
  • approving and monitoring education programmes leading to registration; and 
  • taking action when a registrant’s fitness to practise falls below our standards.

The HCPC also protects professional titles, with all the professions having at least one protected title. It is a criminal offence for someone to claim to be registered when they are not, and they take action against those who do so.

Further information