Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to reduce the (a) administrative cost and (b) bureaucratic burden resulting from the annual re validation process for nurses; and if he will make a statement.

Revalidation supports public protection by requiring nurses, nursing associates and midwives to demonstrate their ability to practise safely and effectively throughout their career. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requires registrants to revalidate every three years by submitting a range of evidence demonstrating their skills and adherence to the NMC Code of professional standards and behaviours.

On 30 March the Department laid an emergency Statutory Instrument allowing the NMC to respond to the pandemic by adapting some of its operating procedures. The NMC has extended revalidation application dates for registrants due to revalidate in March, April, May or June this year. The extended timeframe aims to ease the immediate pressures on registrants working in frontline services and reduce the incidence of lapsed registrations.