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Governance

The role of the Governance team of the GDC is to support the Council, its non-statutory and independent Committees and the Senior Leadership team.

The Council

The Council is comprised of 12 members (six registrant and six lay members), one of whom must live or work wholly or mainly in each of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, to reflect the fact the that GDC is a UK-wide regulator. Its constitution is set out in legislation; the Dentists Act 1984 and in secondary legislation. The Council is chaired by William Moyes.

The Council is the GDC’s strategic body. It decides policy, sets strategic direction and approves key organisational changes. The Council works to promote public safety and ensure that the public have confidence in the dental profession. The Council meets several times a year, both in public and in closed session. A large part of the Council’s role is to scrutinise the work of the organisation, set a positive tone and culture, seek assurance over the way in which the organisation is run and hold the Executive to account. 

The Committees of the Council

In order that the Council can get the assurance it needs that the organisation is running as it should, it will delegate oversight and responsibilities to its Committees who will, in turn, report into the Council. It does this through delegated powers.

These non-statutory Committees are:

Council members also meet to discuss strategic plans and policy development as part of the Chair’s Strategy Group.

The Council has also delegated functions to the Statutory Panellists Assurance Committee (SPC). SPC has oversight of the recruitment, training and discipline of GDC panellists. 

All of these Committees have Terms of Reference which set out the areas in which they will scrutinise and seek assurance, and these can be found on the individual Committee pages.

The Executive Management Team

The team also support the work of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). This group is constituted of the Executive Management Team (EMT) and key Heads of function within the organisation. The EMT and SLT are responsible for the operational management of the organisation and delivery of the strategic aims set by the Council. The group will scrutinise policy development, organisational change requests, strategic approach, and will manage risk, the finances and performance of the organisation.

Council meeting dates for 2020

The Council is due to meet six times in 2020. The public meetings are scheduled to be held on 16 January, 19 March, 3 June, 30 July, 22 October and 17 December. The bulk of the Council’s meetings will be held at its headquarters in Wimpole Street, London. The Council will also meet at the operational hub of the GDC, in Colmore Square in Birmingham.

The papers that will be considered by the Council at these public meetings will be available shortly before the meeting and can be found in the Council section of the website.
 

Governance Responsibilities

Corporate Complaints

The Governance team will also facilitate the handling of any corporate complaints to the organisation. Complaints about the service provided by the organisation will be handled fairly, transparently and in a timely way. We will always seek to resolve any issues raised about the service provided by the organisation at a local level in the first instance. If this is not possible, the matter will be treated as a corporate complaint and handled in line with our Corporate Complaints Policy. 

Gifts and Hospitality

All GDC staff, associates or Council Members are expected to declare any gifts or hospitality that they are offered, regardless of whether or not they are accepted or declined, in line with our Gifts and Hospitality Policy. The team will handle any declarations of gifts or hospitality that are made and administer the policy for the organisation.

Managing Interests

All GDC employees, associates and Council members must declare any professional, personal or business activities or involvement that might constitute a conflict of interest in line with our Managing Interests Policies. 

The Governance team will also administer the Managing Interests Policy for Council Members, Independent Associates of the GDC and for the Executive Management team. People Services will administer the policy in relation to staff and wider GDC associates. 

Governance Team contact details

If you have any questions about the areas outlined above, please do contact the Governance team.

GDC Legislation

The Council operates under a legal framework laid down in the Dentists Act 1984. The relevant legislation around its constitution and the Rules and Standing Orders made by the Council around how it will conduct its business are available in the guidance documents below: