Response to Health and Care Professions Council on updates to its sanction policy

In our response, we welcomed the opportunity to comment and also highlight that:

• We are supportive of HCPC proposals to update the sanctions policy for practice committee panels. It is positive to see the HCPC updating the policy to take account of recent case law, learnings from operation of their fitness to practise process, feedback from stakeholders and to ensure alignment with regulatory best practice.  
• In particular, we welcome the additions to strengthen the guidance on discriminatory behaviours and sexually motivated conduct.
• We are also pleased to see the additions to the guidance on when panels should consider strike-off in cases where behaviour may be fundamentally incompatible with continued registration.   

We have provided some further comments and suggestions to help improve the clarity and usability of the guidance. Read through our full response to find out more.