GOsC proposes 10% cut in osteopaths’ registration fee
15 March 2012
After consulting earlier this year the GOsC is proposing to cut the highest registration fee of £750 by 10%.
Following a consultation held earlier this year, the GOsC is proposing to cut the highest registration fee of £750 by 10%, with the result that most osteopaths would pay £675.
The proposed cut is the result of a cost savings review, which the GOsC, along with all other regulators, has been required by the Government to carry out.
In January of this year, Council agreed that savings identified in the current review should be passed on to registrants in the form of a fee reduction in 2012-2013. In February we held a consultation about how this reduction should be achieved.
We received 785 responses. Nearly all respondents (99%) agreed that the cost savings should be passed on to registrants as a reduction in fees and nearly two-thirds (61%) wanted the reduction in fees to be focused on the highest fee of £750.
You can download the full results of the consultation here.
We also received a number of written comments. We have collected these into one document and answered each one. You can download the ‘Comments and written responses to the fee consultation’ document here.
The proposed reduction will be considered by Council on 29 March. It is also proposed that the fee reduction takes effect from 9 May 2012.
This date has been chosen for two reasons. First, an amendment needs to be made to the existing rules governing registration fees, so there needs to be an adequate period of time between the Council meeting and the introduction of the new fees rules in order to obtain Privy Council approval of the new rules; second, over 2000 registrants have an annual renewal date of 9 May with the remaining majority renewing in the following months so, for maximum benefit, this is the preferred date for the change to take place.
The papers about the results of the consultation and the amendments to fees rules that Council will consider are available, along with the rest of the papers for the Council meeting of 29 March on the Meetings page of this website.
Registrants who renew their registration in May, and who will be the first to be affected by the proposed reduction in fees, will receive their renewal letters and information about the new fee in due course.
The cost review will continue with the aim of seeking further reductions for osteopaths in subsequent years.
