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The new professions process

The HPC have given a short summary of the process to guide aspiring registrants with them and this is reproduced below. The process from start to finish can take from two to three years to complete.

"The process involves four stages, but it is normally begun by an approach from a professional body who represent a new profession, and would like to be regulated by us.

"First, we hold a meeting with representatives from the aspirant profession to tell them about our role, our different committees, the partners that we use to help us do our job, and to let them know what will happen next if they do decide to apply to be regulated.

"Secondly, if they do apply to us, we send them a letter acknowledging their application, and ask them to come and present their application at the next council meeting.

"Thirdly, a member of HPC staff who deals with new professions will go through the application, looking at all the documents submitted, to see whether it meets the council's criteria for a new profession. We call this 'scoring' the application.

"Finally, the council will consider the application, based on the documents and evidence sent in, the scoring from the HPC staff, and the presentation given by members of the aspirant profession.

"If the council decides to recommend that the profession should be regulated, then the chief executive and registrar will write to the secretary of state for health.

"It then requires a statutory instrument to be passed by parliament before the register and the professional "protected" title can pass into law. The whole process can take two to three years.

"Once the register is established then existing professionals can apply to join. There are usually two methods of joining by qualification or by the 'grandparenting' route.

"There are usually other issues to be considered during the consultation process such as the qualification that will become the minimum standard for entry into the profession and the definition of the title that would be used for the profession.

"The primary reason for professional registers is the protection of the public. However, the cost of the registration process is borne by the registrants.

"UNISON is campaigning for registration fees to be paid by the employer or the government. Unlike the previous voluntary registers, which were optional for individual professionals the statutory registers are compulsory and the registrant is in affect subsidising the governments' desire for public protection."