At a specially convened meeting next Wednesday (28 March 2007) the General Dental Council will consider the detail of a new-look, smaller, fully appointed Council. This follows the publication of the White Paper last month which sets out Government’s plans for healthcare regulation, including how the Councils of healthcare regulatory bodies should be constituted.

If the Council agrees to seek an opportunity for early legislation, it will need to agree at the meeting:

• the future membership and the split between lay and professional members, (the government has indicated, as a minimum, that there should be an equal number of lay and professional members);
• the preferred number of Council members; and
• the election of a Chair from within the membership of Council, or the independent appointment of a Chair.

The Council meeting will take place in public in The Bloomsbury Suite, Radisson Kenilworth Hotel, 97 Great Russell Street, London. The meeting will begin at 10:00 and the President and Council members will answer questions from the public at the start of the meeting.

Ends

For media enquiries, please contact Rachel Lea on 020 7009 2782.

Notes to editors:

1. The agenda and papers for this Council meeting are available on the website.

2. Council meetings are open to the public. Each meeting begins with a public question and answer session. This aims to give members of the public an opportunity to find out more about the issues discussed at each meeting. It is an open forum, and there is no pre-selection or pre-ordering of questions.

3. The GDC recently consulted on the constitution of the Council following the introduction of statutory registration for dental nurses, dental technicians and other dental care professionals. The results of the consultation are summarised in the papers for this Council meeting.