ARF increase stands
The judicial review, initiated by the British Dental Association in an attempt to prevent the General Dental Council implementing an increase to its annual retention fee, has found that though the consultation was unlawful, the rise will strand. The BDA was awarded costs.
Shortly after the decision was announced the GDC released the following statement:
“The GDC recognises that Mr Justice Cranston found there was a procedural error in the ARF level consultation.
However, we are pleased that he also recognised that the GDC has to be properly funded in order to carry out its duties to protect the public and that the error was not serious enough to require him to quash the consultation and the new fee.
Throughout this process the GDC has tried to be as transparent as possible and this was noted by Mr Justice Cranston in his judgment when he stated: “However, and to its credit, a constant theme of the GDC’s public announcements has been a commitment to a transparent consultation.”
We acknowledge the court’s view that we could have provided more information to explain our projections for fitness to practise hearings. It is for this reason that the consultation was deemed unlawful.
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