Osteopathy
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the General Osteopathic Council’s proposed increase in registration fees on self-employed osteopaths and recruitment & retention within the profession; and whether she has discussed, alternatives to passing increased fitness-to-practise costs on to registrants.
Answered by Department of Health and Social Care
No assessment has been made. The General Osteopathic Council is an independent statutory regulator and decisions on registration fees are a matter for the Council.
On 6 August 2026, the Council launched a public consultation on its proposed changes to registration fees. The Council has stated that fees have not increased since 2014 and were reduced between 2012 and 2014. The consultation is open until 29 October 2026 and invites views from osteopaths, patients and other interested stakeholders before any decision is taken.
Should the Council decide to proceed with changes following consultation, amendments to the relevant statutory rules would require parliamentary approval before they could come into force.
Further information on the fees consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/about-gosc/how-we-work/consultations/current-consultations/
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