NMC plans to cut 145 jobs at regulator

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has announced plans to cut almost 150 jobs at the regulator amid a projected ‘financial gap’ of £24m this year.

It said the reduction was a ‘difficult but necessary decision’ and would help to support its ‘financial stability’ and ‘modernise the NMC’.

Unison – which will be consulted with as the NMC’s recognised trade union – said the cuts ‘risk undermining service quality and staff morale’.

An internal consultation around the move – which would see the NMC’s staffing of around 1,400 drop by 145 posts – is also underway.

The NMC said that around a third of the posts proposed to be removed are currently vacant.

In addition to staffing changes, the regulator is also consulting on plans to ‘restructure’ parts of the organisation. This includes a change in the way its staff are grouped.

Currently, more than half its staff are under one directorate – Professional Regulation.

Changes would see a move of its Registration and Revalidation team into the Professional Practice directorate, bringing it closer to the Education and Standards teams. This would consolidate all non-fitness to practise (FtP) regulatory functions in one directorate.

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The proposed changes also include the creation of a new Finance directorate, which will align its Finance, Procurement and Estates teams.

The NMC said its proposals were ‘essential to build the new NMC’ and deliver on its new organisational strategy for 2025-2027.

The proposed job cuts and action to cut some ‘non-staff costs’ by around £3.1m a year would see the regulator save £9.7m per annum, it suggested.

And it pointed to the fact that its registration fees have been frozen over the last 10 years – reducing the NMC’s income in real terms by 28% during that time.

By the end of this financial year, this will equate to £180m of lost revenue, the NMC claimed.

This comes at the same time that its expenditure has increased, it noted.

The NMC workforce has risen from 681 in 2016/17 to around 1,400 today, it said.

It also pointed to ‘additional expenditure’ that it had committed to, to improve the organisation, including the transformation of its culture, FtP improvements and a roadmap for reviewing education and standards.

‘The fees freeze and increased expenditure has resulted in a financial gap – the difference between what the NMC receives in income from fees and what it spends,’ the regulator said.

‘This financial gap was £22m last year and is projected to be £24m this year.

‘Whilst this has been managed through prudent use of our reserves it is not sustainable moving forward.’

NMC chief executive and registrar Paul Rees said: ‘The nursing and midwifery professions need a strong and independent regulator to uphold high professional standards and protect the public.

‘To achieve this, we must ensure our financial stability and modernise the NMC.’

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He added: ‘Along with this comes the need for changes to our organisational structure, and the difficult but necessary decision to propose a reduction in our headcount.

‘This will enable us to make the savings we need heading into next year and beyond, as we continue to build the new NMC.’

He noted that all proposals were subject to consultation with Unison and staff.

‘We want to deliver on change in the best way we can. This means minimising the impact on our hard-working, dedicated people as far as possible, while meeting the clear need to secure our finances and ensure we are fit for the future,’ added Mr Rees.

Unison’s head of health Helga Pile said the ‘scale of these redundancies is troubling’.

She pointed to the ‘significant internal challenges’ faced by the NMC in recent times and said that ‘staff had hoped for a period of stability and progress’.

‘Instead, they face further uncertainty. Employees continue to deliver a vital service to people required to register, but these cuts risk undermining service quality and staff morale,’ she warned.

‘The NMC’s own poor financial planning has contributed to this situation, so there’ll be understandable concern among health professionals about how their fees are being used.

‘A commitment to limit the impact on professional regulation is welcome, but any reduction in roles will pile further pressure on those staff who remain.

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‘No one wants to see the backlogs worsen in fitness to practise cases or increase delays for those trying to clear their names.

‘NMC staff deserve clarity about their futures, and the union will work to minimise job losses and support those affected.’

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 warned of an NMC workforce that was ‘really struggling’ and an environment where ‘poor judgement, toxic behaviours and paralysis is affecting decision-making’.