View from the Chair: approving the business plan; recommendations from Lord Mann's review; English language requirements; fear factors in dentistry

Approving the business plan for 2027-2029

I was very disappointed to miss the Council meeting last week when I was too unwell to attend due to a bout of seasonal flu, but no doubt attendees – staff and the public alike – were glad to avoid any germs. I am enormously grateful to Council colleagues Donald Burden and Mike Driver who stepped in to Chair the public and closed meetings, respectively.

Council discussed a number of substantial items in the public meeting, including the business plan. We heard an overview from Tom Whiting of progress made in the first year of our strategy with an explanation about how we have built our plans for 2027-2029. Council discussed the financial considerations, where it is no secret that the year-on-year growth in the number of fitness to practise (FtP) concerns reported to us is causing financial pressure as well as hampering our plans to improve FtP.

Our business plan for 2027-2029, which Council approved, includes work to deal with the immediate demands on FtP as well as starting work on longer-term improvements. In agreeing the business plan, Council also set the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) for 2027, which will be £720 for dentists and £111 for dental care professionals (DCPs). We did not take this decision lightly. As I said in our announcement, we don’t underestimate what it means to ask dental professionals to pay more. We have also identified around £10 million in efficiency savings, and accepted that our free reserves will go below our reserves policy by the end of 2027.

In approving the business plan, the Senior Independent Council Member, Donald Burden, said:

"There has been a lot of change in both the internal and external environments in the past year. The increase in the volume of FtP concerns is also being experienced by other health regulators. Council welcomes the news that we're moving forward with work to improve FtP as well as addressing the immediate demands. Much work has been done to identify cash efficiencies and the Finance and Performance Committee has an important role in assuring Council that these are being delivered in the months ahead."

Tackling antisemitism and other forms of racism

Council heard how we have taken on board the recommendations in Lord Mann's review of antisemitism and other forms of racism to agree our approach in relation to the GDC as both an employer and also as a regulator.

We welcome the Professional Standards Authority's (PSA) efforts to coordinate activity amongst all healthcare regulators, particularly in respect of Lord Mann’s recommendations on wider governance, regulation and oversight, and their work to develop new guidance for regulators on good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion.

The GDC is firmly of the view that there is no place for racism or discrimination in dentistry, and we look forward to playing our full part in this very important work.

Consulting on changes to English language requirements for internationally qualified dental professionals

Our guidance on the requirements that must be met to demonstrate an appropriate standard of English language is more than ten years old, does not reflect the wider options that are now available, or meet applicants' needs.

We have listened to feedback that we need to modernise our requirements, while maintaining the standards and quality that patients expect in their interactions with dental professionals. Council heard proposals to make two main changes in our requirements: to accept a wider range of recognised English language tests and to continue accepting evidence of qualifications and clinical experience but limit this to the UK government's list of English-speaking countries. We will consult on these in the months ahead.

Fear Factors in Dentistry summit

We convened our first 'Fear Factors in Dentistry' summit in October, bringing together a small group of stakeholders to share perspectives and insights, including indemnifiers, academics, dental corporates, professional associations, dental professionals and educational bodies. We were very grateful to work with Andrew Dickenson, CDO Wales, who chaired the summit and worked closely with us to design the day.

Attendees shared their organisations’ perspectives across practice, regulation, employers, education and indemnity, followed by table discussions that explored the many complex factors that contribute to fear and anxiety among dental professionals. Together, we considered what the dental team can do collectively to address the underlying causes. We will continue engaging with stakeholders to build on these discussions and inform our ongoing work to address fear in dentistry, central to our strategy for 2026-2028.