Concern NMC’s budget could impact targets and performance

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has been questioned by its governing council on the risks that its latest budget poses on performance and targets.

The regulator approved its annual budget for 2026/27 at a council meeting on 25 March. It was heard that the NMC expect its reserves to reduce from a forecast £46m at the end of this month to ‘at least £15m’ at the end of March 2027.

Chris Kinsella, the regulator’s chief financial officer, said the budget has been a ‘fine balancing act’ as he set out the plans, which do not factor in a proposed registration fee increase at this stage.

This is due to a decision not yet being reached on the fee increase as the consultation is still being considered and the budget needs to be approved before the next year financial year.

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Concerns were raised during the meeting that the regulator’s financial situation could impact the work of the NMC.

Lay council member Lindsay Foyster, the vice chair of Velindre University NHS Board in Wales, asked Mr Kinsella if council members would be informed if targets are being impacted by finances.

She said: ‘We know we have targets such as fitness to practise (FtP) work and a lot of work to do in education and quality assurance.

‘Knowing we are restricting our funds at the same time as improving control systems and processes, we may face times we can’t reach our targets as quickly as possible.

‘So, I just wanted to make sure that as a council we get to link performance through our financial performance and how will we understand when that is limiting us?

‘I get we are trying to do everything we can, but it would be good if we are strict around if there are areas where it means we won’t be able to hit targets as quicky as we would like to.’

Mr Kinsella reassured the council that ‘management control is in place’ and he intends to feedback on any progress and potential issues.

‘It’s under control as much as it possibly can be,’ he added.

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Though a decision was reached not to raise the registration fee for the purposes of planning the 2026/27 budget, it was raised as a possibility in the future.

Paul Rees, the NMC’s chief executive, told the meeting that the fee hasn’t been raised in 11 years, claiming the regulator has ‘lost £180m’ as a result.

The council papers state that if fees had risen in line with inflation, it would now be more than £166.

Proposals were made last year to raise the fee from £120 £143 and a public consultation ran for 12 weeks from November to January.

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A decision is expected to be made in spring. However, the council were warned that even if a decision was reached to raise the fees, it would not be added into the approved budget.

Mr Kinsella said: ‘The budget is the budget. It will not change if major events arise such as the potential success of the fee approval.

‘That will go into a forecast, not the budget.’