Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October to Question 77605 on Health Professions: Regulation, on what date he will publish a consultation on secondary legislation to modernise the General Medical Council’s regulatory framework which would enable them to consider fitness to practise concerns arising from allegations of sexual misconduct that are more than five years old.

The Government is committed to modernising the regulatory frameworks for all healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom.

We aim to consult on secondary legislation to modernise the General Medical Council’s regulatory framework in early 2026 and to lay this legislation before Parliament in the same year. The Government will confirm a date for the public consultation in due course.

We also plan to update the governing legislation for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council within the current parliamentary period.