2019 ARF to remain unchanged in the face of internal and external risk
NewsPosted by: Dental Design 12th July 2018
The General Dental Council (GDC) announced today that the Annual Retention Fee (ARF) will remain unchanged for 2019. In reaching the decision, the regulator weighed the complex picture of external risk it faces at a time when significant investment is being made for long-term improvement, and concluded the time is not right to make the reduction it had hoped to.
GDC Chief Executive, Ian Brack, said:
“As the GDC’s Accounting Officer, it is my responsibility to ensure that the finances and systems of the GDC are robust and to highlight significant risks to Council. We have made some significant progress in terms of real improvements and efficiencies over the last few years but the combination of external risks facing the GDC for the coming year and the short-term cost of internal investment we’re making to deliver Shifting the balance and bring further long-term savings led me to advise Council against a reduction in the ARF for the next year.”
In early 2018, the GDC consulted on a new policy for its approach to setting fees and, in doing so, established the intention to base future consultations relating to fee-level on a three-year corporate strategy, costed at programme level. This consultation is set to take place in the first half of 2019.
Mr Brack continued:
“Parliament has set the GDC very clear regulatory outcomes that we must achieve, and these focus on protecting the public and maintaining public confidence in Dentistry. This will always be our first priority. We focus heavily on finding new ways to deliver our remit more cost-effectively, but we must achieve this sustainably. Next year we’re consulting on our three-year costed corporate strategy, and the activity we propose within that will tell us what the ARF level will need to be to carry out that work. I really hope to hear as many views as possible and look forward to the valuable debate that will undoubtedly bring.”
