GPhC to slash fees
Business The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is to cut pharmacists' renewal fees by £27 a year to £240 and technicians' renewal fees by £12 to £108 from October.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is to cut pharmacists' renewal fees by £27 a year to £240 and technicians' renewal fees by £12 to £108 from October.
It will also freeze registered premises fees at £221 and increase the charge for people trying to rejoin the register after being removed from it by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).
Three quarters of respondents to the fees consultation agreed with the lower rates for pharmacists and technicians, papers released ahead of today's council meeting revealed.
Pharmacists' renewal fees are set to be cut by £27 a year to £240 and technicians' renewal fees by £12 to £108 from October |
GPhC to debate pre-reg fee cuts and guidance on fitness-to-practise sanctions |
But there was less support for keeping registered premises fees at £221, with just under half of respondents agreeing. But the GPhC stressed that it was reluctant to change these fees as it was "not yet in a position to estimate" the costs premises regulation would incur. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said they were in favour of the proposal to increase application fees for those struck off by the RPS to £413 for pharmacists and £283 for technicians. The GPhC will also discuss its annual report at today's meeting, which revealed the regulator had reduced its backlog of fitness-to-practise cases and made efficiency savings of just over £2 million. |
The council also plans to devise an investment strategy for its reserve funds. In April, the GPhC had an operating surplus of £422,000, which was £206,000 higher than budgeted for that month.
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