Mann Review recommendations a much-needed boost to tackling antisemitism and racism, says PSA
04 Jun 2026
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) welcomes the publication of the Lord Mann Review which looked at how the regulatory system for healthcare professionals tackles antisemitism and other forms of racism at every stage, from employment through to professional oversight.
Racism and antisemitism in the NHS can have a major impact on public trust and confidence in professionals and in healthcare services more widely, and can make patients and families, as well as staff feel unsafe. It is important that professional regulators, along with other parts of the system, play their part in combatting it robustly.
The Review recommends expanded powers for the PSA. These include a new power for the PSA to appeal interim order decisions which are made ahead of a final decision on a healthcare professional’s fitness to practise. Interim orders can be used to prevent or restrict a professional’s practice before a full investigation is undertaken in cases where there is a significant risk to public safety or confidence. There is also a new power proposed for the PSA to require that the General Medical Council (GMC) shares information with us. This is intended to support our oversight role. These proposed powers are currently being consulted on as part of the new legislative framework for the GMC.
Lord Mann’s Review also recommends additional accountability arrangements and enhanced expectations for the PSA on convening and communicating with regulators about their responsibilities in this area. There is a range of further recommendations for regulators, employers and wider stakeholders.
We welcome the recommendations set out in the Review and will begin to plan how we will work with others to take them forward. We will publish further information later this month about the new proposed powers in our response to the consultation on the GMC’s new legislation.
"Lord Mann's Review shines a light on the harms that antisemitism and other forms of racism have on patients and professionals alike. The levels of reported incidents of discrimination towards Jewish, Muslim, Black and ethnic minority NHS staff are deeply worrying.
“Professional regulation has a clear responsibility to help tackle these issues. Since it was introduced in 2019, the PSA's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Standard has raised expectations for the regulators we oversee and we have seen much progress. The Review shows that a coordinated, sustained effort continues to be needed to make the further progress we want to see.
“We welcome the new powers recommended for the PSA in the Review. We will take them forward alongside work to improve standards across EDI more broadly, including through our updated standards for regulators in this area, published earlier this year."
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the editor
- The Lord Mann Review into racism and antisemitism in the NHS was published on 4 June 2026. The Review was commissioned in response to concerns about incidents of antisemitism amongst healthcare professionals and is intended to support action to protect patients and staff from racism and hold perpetrators to account.
- There are two proposed changes to the PSA's powers as a result of recommendations arising from the Lord Mann Review. These are currently out for consultation alongside wider proposals to modernise the legislative framework for the General Medical Council (GMC). The consultation is open until 23 June 2026 and the PSA will be submitting its response by the deadline. These proposals include a power for the PSA to require that regulators such as GMC, share information with us for the purposes of enabling PSA to discharge its statutory functions.
- The consultation on the GMC Order also proposes a new power for the PSA to be able to challenge interim order decisions. These decisions are made ahead of a formal investigation by a regulatory body into whether a professional's fitness to practise is impaired and are only put in place where there is a significant risk to public safety or confidence.
- The PSA already has powers to challenge final fitness to practise decisions through section 29 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 and the consultation on the new GMC order proposes to retain these powers. We also use our performance review of the regulators we oversee to monitor how they are tackling racism and discrimination through the regulatory process. We have recently published updated Standards with enhanced expectations around equality, diversity and inclusion.
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is the UK’s oversight body for the regulation of people working in health and social care. Our statutory remit, independence and expertise underpin our commitment to the safety of patients and service-users, and to the protection of the public. There are 10 organisations that regulate health professionals in the UK and social workers in England by law. We audit their performance and review their decisions on practitioners’ fitness to practise. We also accredit and set standards for organisations holding registers of health and care practitioners not regulated by law. We collaborate with all of these organisations to improve standards. We share good practice, knowledge and our right-touch regulation expertise.
- We also conduct and promote research on regulation. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally, providing guidance to governments and stakeholders. Through our UK and international consultancy, we share our expertise and broaden our regulatory insights.
- Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.