DOCTORS with a licence to practise in the UK will pay an extra £30 in annual fees to the GMC from April 2015.
The annual retention fee will rise from £390 to £420 – an increase of 7.5 per cent. This is the first ARF rise imposed by the GMC since 2010.
Newly qualified doctors at the start of their careers will continue to enjoy a freeze in the provisional registration fee at £90 and doctors on a lower income will still be eligible for a 50 per cent discount.
The annual retention fee for doctors without a licence to practice will also increase from £140 to £150.
The GMC attributes the need for a fee rise to increased demand for services, anticipating more than 20,000 registration applications and more than 75,000 revalidation decisions in 2015. The regulator also expects an increase in serious complaints which is likely to result in over 2,800 fitness to practise hearing days.
The Council of the GMC has pledged to do everything it can to bear down on costs to keep the ARF as low as possible.
Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the General Medical Council said: "For five years we have succeeded in cutting or freezing our fee – increased demand now means we need to restore it to the level it was in 2010, if we are to continue to meet our wide-ranging obligations. These responsibilities have increased substantially in recent years with, for example, the introduction of revalidation and the oversight of postgraduate education."
Click here for a full list of GMC fee changes in 2015
This page was correct at the time of publication. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.
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