PSA publishes Strategic Plan 2026–29 focused on driving preventative regulation
09 Apr 2026
The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has today launched its Strategic Plan for 2026-29, setting out how it will encourage a more preventative approach to regulation through delivery of its statutory duties to help meet the challenges of today’s rapidly changing health and social care landscape.
At its heart, the plan reaffirms the PSA’s unwavering commitment to protecting the public. It recognises that regulation can best support safe, effective care when it is targeted, proportionate and preventative, and when it works as part of a wider safety and quality system.
We have identified five strategic themes around our work - oversight, prevention, reform, governance and collaboration. The plan contains three strategic aims: delivering highly effective oversight of regulation and registration; driving continuous improvement across regulators and Accredited Registers; and working with others to make the overall system more cohesive, supportive and preventative.
It also sets out how the PSA will support governments to maximise the benefits of a more modern and flexible legislative framework while remaining agile in prioritising work that delivers the greatest benefit for patients, service users and the public across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
“Our priority is clear: to protect the public. This plan sets out how we will use our independence and expertise to maximise our impact at a time of significant change.”
“Effective regulation is preventative, proportionate and focused on improvement. This strategy sets a clear direction for how the PSA will support safer care for all over the next three years.”
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the editor
- 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.