A view from the Chair: feedback on the Standards for Education, Council’s considerations around our next Corporate Strategy, and information about how we deliver our statutory functions

Feedback on the Standards for Education 

Council met in April, and one of the substantial items for decision was the outcome of the recent consultation into the Standards for Education. We heard that there had been broad agreement with the revised structure and the inclusion of five new areas, including monitoring of behaviours, technological advances and staff and student wellbeing. As a result of welcome feedback, we will make some amendments to improve accuracy and understanding in some areas, adding a glossary, and being clear which standards are solely for assessment providers. We expect to publish the consultation outcome report and revised standards later this year. 

Preparing to consult on our Corporate Strategy 

Council also discussed our developing proposals for the GDC’s Corporate Strategy from 2026 to 2028. Before we bring forward a full consultation document, I wanted to share just some of the factors Council has taken into account. The document will cover our objectives and activities and we will consider the responses received when we consult (from May to August this year) before finalising our plans. In October 2025, these plans will set the direction of the GDC and, in turn, the ARF for future years. 

We have controlled our costs by working more efficiently and were able to reduce the ARF for the last two years, by reducing our reserves, at a time of high inflation and economic uncertainty. 

In common with other organisations, we now need to address unavoidable spend, such as the increase in employers’ National Insurance and the impact of corporation tax. The global economic uncertainty is also likely to continue.  

In recent years we have made a lot of progress towards regulation which focuses on supporting professionalism and resolving issues quickly and proportionately, but there is more to do. 

The context in which we are working has changed significantly, including digital advancements in dental education and practice, the changing nature of dentistry, and a greater understanding of the impact of regulation on mental health. 

Council have considered the areas where we want to do more, such as continuing to improve Fitness to Practise by improving our signposting to help, sharing learning, improving our guidance on decision-making to ensure fairness and consistency, and by looking to address and reduce fear of the process.  

Our Chief Executive, Tom Whiting, has also already spoken about wanting to improve our digital capability and modernise our processes, to improve the experience for dental professionals accessing online services, such as registration and renewal. 

While much uncertainty remains, we are well positioned to be more ambitious in our plans to change our approach to professional regulation.   

Council have had thorough discussions on the level of investment needed, and over what time period, to secure our position as an efficient and effective regulator of the whole dental team. You can expect to see these considerations reflected in the proposals very soon. 

How we deliver some of our core statutory functions 

The GDC published a number of corporate reports this month, and these are worth reading to find out more about how we deliver some of our core statutory functions. 

The Registration statistical report for 2024 includes detailed information on the number of dental professionals, registration trends, and demographic profiles covering sex, age, and ethnicity. The number of registered dental professionals had increased by 4.8%, compared to 2023, with 125,736 registered dental professionals in December 2024; 46,362 dentists and 79,374 dental care professionals. 

In turn, numbers of registration applications continued to grow, and our Registration teams assessed 12,978 applications across all routes, an increase of 13.1% on the previous highest number of applications processed in 2023 (11,476).    

Dental nurses make up more than 50% of the registers and the numbers increased by 3,349 (5.4%) in 2024. As a matter of concern for the whole sector, the number of dental technicians declined for the fifth year in a row, with only 5,025 now registered, almost 10% fewer compared to 2020.  

The Fitness to Practise statistical report for 2024 shows that we received 1,401 new concerns during 2024, representing an 8% increase compared to the previous year. Of these concerns, 88% were resolved at assessment and case examiner stages, with only 12% progressing to a practice committee hearing. 18 dental professionals were removed from the register following Practice Committee hearings, representing just 0.01% of all registered dental professionals.  

The majority of concerns received are from patients and members of the public, accounting for 61% of cases received, up from 59% in 2023, and there has been a continued increase in referrals from dental professionals, rising to 9% in 2024. 

We also published our Costed Corporate Plan (CCP) which not only reviews the 2024 plan but also sets out what we will do over the next three years, based on current priorities.