EXCLUSIVE: NMC proposing registration fee increase

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is proposing to increase its registration fee, Nursing in Practice can reveal.

The NMC’s governing council will be asked to approve proposals to launch a public consultation on increasing the fee for registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates in a council meeting next week.

If approved by the governing council, the proposed rise to the fee will be set out in autumn.

The regulator has frozen its registration fee since 2015 and says the decade-long fee has led to a 28% real terms reduction in income for the regulator.

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By not keeping the fees in level with inflation, the NMC said it has faced ‘about £180m in lost income up to the end of the current financial year’.

The NMC says it is now ‘using up reserves’ for its day-to-day running costs.

There has been a 24% increase in the number of professionals on the register, from 686, 811 in 2015 to 853,707 today.

‘No longer sustainable’

Paul Rees, NMC chief executive and registrar, said: ‘For the first time in a decade, we are proposing to increase the registration fee.’

He explained if an increase was to go ahead, it would be used to support ‘ongoing transformation of the NMC’, including its work to improve fitness to practise and education and standards, and fix its culture to ensure it is an ‘anti-racist organisation’.

Mr Rees said that, if the consultation goes ahead, registrants will be encouraged to share their thoughts on the changes.

‘Whether you are a nurse, midwife or nursing associate on our register, a student, a member of the public or someone involved in the wider health and social care sector, we would be keen to hear your thoughts,’ he explained.

When speaking exclusively to Nursing in Practice last month Mr Rees said the NMC needs to make sure its work is ‘sustainable’.

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‘I think what people want in the sector is a strong and independent regulator. So, we need the organisation to be able to do that job of work.

‘We need to make sure that we’re being as frugal as possible, but the registration fee has been kept flat for 10 years and that’s no longer sustainable,’ he warned.

If introduced, the NMC says the fee will be used to ‘invest in critical change and improvement programmes’.

Last week, the NMC announced its plans to cut almost 150 jobs at the regulator as part of cost-saving measures.

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In July, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) announced plans to push forward with a 6% increase in its annual registration fees despite strong opposition.

A damning independent review into the NMC’s culture last year exposed systemic bullying, racism and harassment at the regulator.

Led by former public prosecutor Nazir Afzal, with Rise Associates, the review found the NMC workforce to be ‘really struggling’ and an environment where ‘poor judgement, toxic behaviours and paralysis is affecting decision-making’.