The PSA publishes its review of the General Dental Council’s performance for 2024/25

We have today published our annual performance review of the General Dental Council (GDC). During 2024/25, we monitored the GDC’s performance against the Standards of Good Regulation (the Standards).

For this period, covering 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, the GDC has met 16 out of 18 Standards. Our report explains the reasons for our decision. 

The GDC did not meet Standard 3 (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) or Standard 15 (fitness to practise timeliness) during 2024/25. 

In order to meet Standard 3, regulators must assure us they are delivering the four high-level outcomes supported by our evidence matrix. We did not have sufficient assurance that the GDC was meeting two of the four outcomes. Therefore, it did not meet Standard 3 again this year. 

We have commended the GDC on implementing priority booking for refugees on its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) and the changes made to the identification and support for whistleblowers. We also noted that the GDC has made progress in its commitment to EDI and improved its public reporting of actions it is taking to deliver its EDI strategy. However, we still have concerns relating to the extent to which the GDC currently requires education and training providers to demonstrate that they are preparing students to provide appropriate care to all patients, and the extent to which providers take appropriate account of diverse student needs. By the end of the review period there continued to be a lack of explicit references to discriminatory behaviour in fitness to practise guidance and Council and Committee members had not received EDI training. 

The GDC did not meet Standard 15 again this year because it is still taking too long to deal with fitness to practise cases. We noted that the GDC has put in place measures to improve its fitness to practise timeliness, but these have not yet had sufficient impact on the time it is taking to reach decisions. 

In line with our Escalation Policy, we have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee to provide an update on the GDC’s performance and to highlight that the GDC has again not met Standard 15.

You can find out more about the GDC’s review in our Periodic Report. You can find out more about how we review the regulators here.

The judgements we make against each Standard incorporate a range of evidence to form an overall picture of performance. Meeting a Standard means that we are satisfied that a regulator is performing well in that area. It does not mean there is no room for improvement. Similarly, finding that a regulator has met all of the Standards does not mean perfection. Rather, it signifies good performance in the 18 areas we assess.

Our oversight does not stop when we publish our report. It is an ongoing, continuous process and, where we have identified areas for improvement, we pay particular attention to these as we continue to monitor the GDC’s performance.

Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk