Raising the bar for public protection: why our new Standards matter

The PSA’s new Standards for regulators and Accredited Registers, published in March and coming into effect from today, mark a significant moment in the evolution of health and care professional regulation in the United Kingdom. They are not simply a refresh of existing expectations or a technical update to assessment frameworks. They represent a clear statement about what good regulation looks like in a changing world, and what the public has a right to expect from those who oversee the professions on which we all rely. 

The context for this change is important. The environment in which professional regulators operate is becoming more complex and more demanding. New technologies, including artificial intelligence and digital health tools, are reshaping professional practice. Workforce pressures are increasing across health and care systems. Public expectations of transparency, accountability and responsiveness are rising. At the same time, there is less tolerance for avoidable harm, inconsistent decision-making or regulatory processes that are difficult to understand. In this environment, as we set out in Right touch regulation, the role of regulation is not only to maintain standards but to anticipate risk, support safe practice and sustain public confidence in professions. 

The new Standards therefore set out a clearer and more consistent articulation of what effective regulation should achieve. They emphasise that regulation must be judged not only by the robustness of its processes but by its impact on public protection and professional standards. This represents an important shift in emphasis towards outcomes: whether regulatory action is genuinely making services safer, maintaining trust and supporting improvement across the system. Process matters, but it is not enough on its own. 

A central ambition of the Standards is to encourage continuous improvement across all regulators and Accredited Registers. They are designed to be both a benchmark and a catalyst, helping organisations to reflect on their performance, identify areas for development and strengthen their approach over time. In doing so, they aim to support regulators to become more adaptive, more evidence-based and more transparent in how they operate. This includes making better use of data and intelligence, responding earlier to emerging risks, and ensuring that decisions are consistent, proportionate and clearly explained. Much of this converges in the new Standard on governance. 

The Standards also reflect the importance of maintaining public confidence in regulation itself. Trust in healthcare professionals is closely linked to trust in the systems that regulate them. Where regulation is seen to be fair, effective and responsive, it strengthens confidence not only in individuals but in the wider system of care and service delivery. Conversely, where regulation is experienced as inconsistent or unclear, confidence can be undermined even where individual decisions are well intentioned. The new Standards therefore place emphasis on clarity, transparency and accountability as core components of effective regulatory practice. 

Importantly, this is not about increasing bureaucracy or creating additional burden for its own sake. Rather, it is about ensuring that regulatory systems are equipped to meet modern expectations and deliver meaningful protection for the public. It is also about supporting regulators and Accredited Registers in fulfilling their role with confidence and clarity, by setting out what good looks like in a consistent and accessible way. 

Ultimately, the new Standards reflect a simple but important principle: that those responsible for regulating professions must themselves be held to high and evolving standards of performance. By raising expectations and focusing attention on outcomes, the PSA’s new framework is intended to support stronger, more effective regulation across all professions. In doing so, it aims to help ensure that public protection is not only maintained but strengthened in the years ahead. Read through the new Standards and supporting materials.