Welcome letter to Wes Streeting MP

The Chief Executives of the statutory health and social care regulatory bodies for England have written to the new Secretary of State to welcome him to the role. They affirmed their support for helping meet the challenges facing the health and social care sector, by supporting high standards and professionalism in the health and care professions that they regulate.

They have also called for a committment to prioritise and continue the reform of healthcare regulations that are vital for creating independent, modern professional regulation.

The full text of the letter is below:

8 July 2024

Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Department of Health and Social Care

Dear Wes.

Congratulations on your election and appointment as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

I write on behalf of the Chief Executives of the health and social care professional regulators working across the UK, whose forum I Chair.

You have already signalled the challenges ahead facing the NHS and social care, the workforce, and patients. It is a crucial time for the health service and social care and we welcome the commitment that you have made to address these challenges.

We are keen to play our part in helping you to meet them by supporting high standards and professionalism in those we regulate. However, for many years we have been operating under constraints imposed by outdated and overly prescriptive legal frameworks which limit our ability to respond to the changing needs of health and social care services and of patients and people who use services.

The Labour Party’s support for the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order as it made its way through the last parliament was invaluable. We are particularly grateful as this legislation is the first significant step forward in the long-awaited package of reforms that are vital for creating independent, modern professional regulation.

However, there is much more work to do to extend these reforms to other parts of the health and care workforce and we would welcome your commitment to prioritising this.

Reform will mean regulators can be less adversarial but more consistent, flexible and accessible. It will also help to strengthen efficiencies and enhance existing accountability and transparency. Updating our legislation will help us be more responsive to challenges in the health and care environment and ensure we can act quickly and flexibly, reducing stress for people using services and registrants.

Our teams have been working closely with officials over the past months and years on regulatory reform and we would welcome this programme picking up again at pace, and in doing so, help deliver your ambitions to meet the evolving needs of the NHS.

We look forward to hearing from you

Yours sincerely

Nick Jones, Chief Executive, General Chiropractic Council and Chair of Chief Executives of Regulatory Bodies (CEORB)
Charlie Massey, Chief Executive, General Medical Council
Helen Herniman, Acting Chief Executive and Registrar, Chief Executive, Nursing and Midwifery Council
Bernie O’Reilly, Chief Executive, The Health and Care Professions Council
Tom Whiting, Chief Executive, General Dental Council
Leonie Milliner, Chief Executive, General Optical Council
Matthew Redford, Chief Executive, General Osteopathic Council
Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive, General Pharmaceutical Council
Colum Conway, Chief Executive, Social Work England