The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is seeking views on their proposal to permanently amend their Rules to give them the express power to hold hearings remotely.
On 4 March 2020, the HCPC was granted an amendment to our existing Rules by the Department of Health and Social Care, which gave the express provision to hold hearings remotely during an emergency. Currently, the Coronavirus emergency provisions are due to expire on 30 September 2021.
HCPC would like to continue to hold hearings remotely once the emergency period ends, where it is fair and practical to do so. They are therefore seeking an amendment to our Rules to give us permanent powers to hold hearings remotely.
You can find the consultation questions, more detail on their reasoning for the proposal, and information about their experience of holding remote hearings in the consultation document on HCPCs website. You should read the consultation document fully prior to completing the online questionnaire.
The consultation opens today and you can download the consultation document by visiting the consultation page.
Closing date for responses is the 23rd November 2021