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Annual report Annual fitness to practise report
Annual accounts
2016/17
Annual report Annual fitness to practise report
Annual accounts
2016/17
Annual report and annual fitness to practise report presented to Parliament and the
Scottish Parliament pursuant to Paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Pharmacy Order
2010
Annual accounts presented to Parliament and the Scottish Parliament pursuant to
Paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Pharmacy Order 2010
The text of this document (but not the logo and branding) may be reproduced free of charge in any
format or medium, as long as it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. This
material must be acknowledged as General Pharmaceutical Council copyright and the document title
specified. If we have quoted third party material, you must get permission from the copyright holder.
If you have any questions about this document please email
[email protected] or phone our customer contact centre on 020 3713
8000.
You can also read this document on our website at www.pharmacyregulation.org/annualreport
and download it from www.official-documents.gov.uk
© General Pharmaceutical Council 2017
Contents
Foreword .............................................................................................................................. 4
About us ............................................................................................................................... 6
The register .......................................................................................................................... 7
Our achievements in 2016/17 ............................................................................................ 8
Looking to the future ......................................................................................................... 18
Annual fitness to practise report ...................................................................................... 20
Our reporting requirements .............................................................................................. 24
How we govern ourselves .................................................................................................. 25
Governance statement 2016/17 ........................................................................................ 34
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2017 ............................................... 37
Statement of the council’s responsibilities for the preparation of financial statements ... 38
Independent auditor's report to the council members
of the General Pharmaceutical Council ........................................................................................ 39
Statement of comprehensive income for the year ending 31 March 2017 ............................. 40
Statement of financial position as at 31 March 2017 ................................................................. 41
Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2017 ..................................................... 42
Statement of changes in funds for the year ending 31 March 2017 ........................................ 43
Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2017 .................................... 44
Appendix 1: General Pharmaceutical Council Accounts Determination
given by the Privy Council under the Pharmacy Order 2010 .................................................... 57
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
4
Foreword From our chair, Nigel Clarke, and our chief executive,
Duncan Rudkin
We are expecting, and indeed already seeing,
changes of a scale and scope that will affect
every aspect of pharmacy practice. External
developments, including Brexit, will inevitably
have a significant impact on both pharmacy
regulation and the wider sector in which we
work.
These changes are leading inevitably to a future
where we will all have to work differently if we
are to meet new demands and expectations on
pharmacy from governments, commissioners of
health services, other health professionals, and
people using pharmacy services.
It can take time for the changes we make to have
an impact – which is why we must move forward
at pace with our work to help support the
delivery of safe, effective care. This includes
moving forward with our work to make sure that
pharmacy professionals have the right
knowledge, attitudes and behaviours so they are
able to respond with confidence to the future
needs of people needing care.
One way we do this is through standards that set
out what is expected of pharmacy professionals.
The most important development for us in the
past year has been the approval by our council of
new standards for pharmacy professionals.
These standards are the cornerstone of
everything we do and should be the cornerstone
of pharmacy professionals’ practice, helping to
promote professionalism and person-centred
care. Employers and superintendent pharmacists
also have a responsibility to make sure that
pharmacy professionals working in their
pharmacies can meet them.
It was crucial to get these standards right. So we
went to significant lengths to ask for the views of
individuals and organisations about the
standards and to carefully consider the feedback
we received.
In doing this we have shown that we will listen to
what people tell us, and won't shy away from
issues that are challenging, if we decide that
something needs to change to improve the care
people receive. This was shown by our decision
to consult on what we say in our standards and
supporting guidance on religion, personal values
and beliefs. The standards come into effect in
May 2017 and will influence all our future work,
including the new standards we are developing
for the initial education and training of pharmacy
professionals. This ongoing programme of work
will help to make sure that the next generation of
pharmacy professionals will develop the right
knowledge, attitudes and behaviours for their
future roles during their education and training.
In December we launched a major consultation
on draft initial education and training (IET)
standards for pharmacy technicians – the first
major overhaul of these standards for this
profession. The engagement we had with
pharmacy technicians, as well as with those who
employ and work alongside them and with
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
5
people using their services, has been invaluable
in helping to develop the new standards.
Once they are on the register, how do we make
sure that pharmacy professionals are continuing
to meet our standards? We recognise that it is
not enough for us to set standards: we have to
provide assurance to people that they are being
met. And we know from the evidence we and
others have gathered that people using
pharmacy services expect this assurance.
That is why we have been developing a new
framework for ‘revalidation for pharmacy
professionals’, so that pharmacy professionals
can demonstrate they are meeting the standards
throughout their careers. As with all our work,
our proposals are focused on the outcomes we
want to achieve for patients and the public and
are backed up by a significant body of evidence –
including the evaluation of a pilot involving 1300
pharmacy professionals. This is a good example
of how we work closely with pharmacy
organisations and individual professionals to ‘co-
create’ our proposals. This will continue during
the consultation next year and the
implementation of the framework over the
coming years.
Looking ahead, we will need to work differently
as an organisation to fulfil the ambitious aims
and priorities outlined in our strategy and
business plan for 2017–20. We began work in
2016/17 to identify how we can work more
efficiently and effectively, so we can have a
greater impact. This included looking at how we
improve the way we use and analyse data to
deliver insights which we can use in our work
and share with others. We also started to plan a
major programme of work to transform our
services and operations. The aim of this is to
make processes better for our registrants and
other stakeholders, so we can all spend more
time on the things that make a real difference to
people using pharmacy services.
We believe that we are now well-placed to
respond to the changes and challenges ahead.
But we also know there is much more to be
done, and we will continue to work alongside our
registrants (individual professionals and owners
of pharmacies), the people using pharmacy
services, the leaders of pharmacy, other
regulators, and the wider health and care sector
to support and improve the delivery of safe,
effective care and to uphold trust in pharmacy.
Nigel Clarke
Chair
Duncan Rudkin
Chief Executive
and Registrar
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
6
About us What we do
People receive safe, effective care and have trust
in pharmacy because of the knowledge, attitudes
and behaviours of people working in pharmacy.
We have an important part to play. We:
promote professionalism within pharmacy
assure the quality of pharmacy, including its
safety
support improvement in pharmacy
We have a number of ways in which we do this.
These include:
registering and listing publicly the pharmacy
professionals and pharmacies that provide
care to patients and the public
setting and promoting the standards
required to enter and remain on our register
receiving assurances, in a number of ways,
that pharmacy professionals and
pharmacies continue to uphold our
standards – and acting appropriately when
they do not
sharing with others what we learn through
our work
investigating concerns about the people or
pharmacies we register and taking
proportionate action to protect the public
and promote our standards
Changes to…
Our council
We recruited two new council members – one
registrant member, Elizabeth Mailey, and one lay
member, Jayne Salt. They are replacing present
council members Liz Kay and Sarah Brown who
finished their terms as council members on 31
March 2017. We’d like to thank our outgoing
members for their hard work, and welcome our
new members to their roles. You can find out
more about our council members in the ‘About
us’ section of our website.
Our staff
In February 2017, we recruited a deputy chief
executive and director of operations, Megan
Forbes. Megan will lead our operations
directorate and take forward our service
transformation programme. She is due to take
up her post in June 2017.
Our director of organisational development and
equality, diversity and inclusion, Vivienne Murch,
retired at the end of April 2017. We would like to
thank Vivienne for her hard work. Her successor,
Francesca Okosi will join us in June 2017.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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The register The register as at 31 March 2017
Anyone can find out if a pharmacist, pharmacy
technician or pharmacy is registered, by
checking information from the register on
our website. You can also see any decisions we
have made about whether pharmacy
professionals are safe to practise pharmacy, and
which pharmacists are also ‘supplementary
prescribers’ or ‘independent prescribers’.
To be able to practise in Great Britain,
pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must
satisfy us that they meet the standards for
pharmacy professionals. Only then can they join
the register. Similarly, anyone wanting to register
a pharmacy or renew that registration must also
meet our standards.
When a pharmacist or pharmacy technician
renews their registration with us each year, they
must make a declaration confirming that they
meet all our standards.
Anyone who is not registered with us, but
practises as a pharmacist or pharmacy
technician, is breaking the law and can be
prosecuted.
Registration fees In February 2017, our governing council decided that registration renewal fees for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises will stay at the present levels for the financial year 2017/18.
Registration renewal fees will continue to be £250 for pharmacists, £118 for pharmacy technicians and £241 for registered pharmacies.
The council approved the organisation’s budget for 2017/18 at its meeting in February and agreed as part of the budget that fee levels should remain unchanged.
We are strongly committed to reducing our operating costs and achieving further operational efficiencies, as well as avoiding significant changes in fee levels in future years for any of our registrants.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
8
Our achievements in 2016/17Agreeing new standards for pharmacy
professionals
We consulted on proposed new standards for
pharmacy professionals and used the feedback
we received to help us agree standards that will
promote person-centred professionalism. We
also developed guidance to support the new
standards.
Piloting and evaluating a new
revalidation framework to provide
further assurance to the public that
pharmacy professionals are meeting the
standards
Over 1300 pharmacy professionals took part in
our pilot of a new framework to provide further
assurance to the public that pharmacy
professionals are meeting the standards. We
used what we learnt from the pilot and other
research and development activities to develop
proposals on which we will consult in 2017.
Consulting on new standards for
pharmacy technician education and
training
We continued our programme of work to make
sure education and training prepares pharmacy
professionals for their roles now and in the
future. We consulted on proposed new
education standards for pharmacy technicians,
and held a discussion about the supervision of
pharmacist independent prescribers.
Providing assurance and promoting
improvement in registered pharmacies
Through our approach to regulating and
inspecting registered pharmacies, we continue to
encourage improvements in pharmacy care and
make sure appropriate action is taken when
standards are not met.
Exploring quality in pharmacy practice
and services through a series of online
workshops
We asked pharmacy professionals to share their
ideas about what quality looks like in pharmacy
practice. This was to help us create a shared
definition of the key elements of quality and
discover the range of actions that the pharmacy
sector takes to ensure high-quality services are
delivered.
Improving the way we work
We continued to make improvements in how we
carry out our day-to-day work, to help make sure
we are delivering regulation that is both efficient
and effective. We also carried out a ‘scoping’
exercise to consider what areas of our
operations could be re-designed to make
processes better for our registrants and other
stakeholders.
Integrating equality, diversity and
inclusion into the way we work
During 2016/17 we continued to build equality
and diversity into the work that we do as a
regulator, a public service provider and an
employer.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
9
Agreeing new standards
for pharmacy professionals
The new standards for pharmacy
professionals aim to promote
professional decision-making and
encourage pharmacy professionals to
consider how they can provide
person-centred care, whatever their
area of practice.
The standards also strengthen the emphasis on
key themes, including speaking up about
concerns and demonstrating leadership.
We consulted on the standards from April to
June 2016. During the consultation, we asked a
wide range of stakeholders, including members
of the public, employers, pharmacy professionals
and other health professionals, to consider and
discuss the proposed standards and to let us
know if they agreed with our approach.
We coordinated an extensive programme of
communications and engagement for the
consultation, including public and patient focus
groups across the three countries. Over 2,700
individuals and organisations contributed to the
consultation.
Overall the responses supported the new
standards. But feedback from this consultation
led us to conclude that the examples we gave on
personal values and beliefs under standard 1
were not compatible with person-centred care.
So, in October 2016, our council approved the
new standards subject to further consultation on
the examples for values and beliefs under
standard 1.
We held a consultation from December 2016 to
March 2017 on revised versions of these
examples and on new supporting guidance.
These are intended to reflect the broad range of
situations when a pharmacy professional’s
religion, personal values or beliefs might affect
their willingness to provide services in certain
circumstances, and give practical information to
help them make sure they make the care of the
person their priority.
We held engagement events and meetings
across Great Britain and received over 3,500
written responses to the consultation. This is the
most responses we have received to a
consultation since coming into being. Our
council, at its meeting on 6 April, considered the
feedback received about the wording of the
examples under standard 1. The council decided
to approve the wording, and agreed that the
standards could come into effect in May 2017.
They also agreed that there will be new, separate
guidance on religion, personal values and beliefs
in pharmacy practice.
Employers and superintendent pharmacists have
a responsibility (set out in the standards for
registered pharmacies) to make sure that they
create and support an environment in which the
pharmacy professionals working in their
pharmacies can meet the standards.
We have reviewed our guidance on consent, on
confidentiality, and on maintaining sexual
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
10
boundaries to support pharmacy professionals
in meeting the new standards.
The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA)
applied for a judicial review to challenge the
legality of the council’s decision to approve new
standards for pharmacy professionals which say
that ‘The standards need to be met at all times,
not only during working hours’.
The High Court refused the judicial review
application. In the judgment, the judge
highlighted a number of important principles,
including that pharmacy professionals should be
expected to meet the standards at all times.
The standards for pharmacy professionals aim to
promote professional decision-making
Piloting and evaluating a
new revalidation
framework to provide
further assurance to the
public that pharmacy
professionals are meeting
the standards
We have published our proposals,
developed over the last few years, to
introduce a new framework to
provide further assurance to people
using pharmacy services that
pharmacists and pharmacy
technicians meet standards for safe
and effective practice throughout
their careers.
From April to December 2016, we held a pilot of
these proposals with 1300 volunteer pharmacists
and pharmacy technicians so that we could
better understand their impact. We asked pilot
participants to record four CPD entries, have a
peer discussion and provide a reflective account
(a case study relating to standard 3 of the
standards for pharmacy professionals).
Around 1 in 55 pharmacy professionals took part in our pilot
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Solutions for Public Health (an independent
evaluator) has written a report about the impact
of the pilot and the improvements we should
consider if we were to apply our proposals to
everyone on our register.
We previously used ‘continuing fitness to
practise’ to refer to this programme of work. One
comment we heard from all our stakeholders
was that the term ‘continuing fitness to practise’
was confusing. And it was too readily associated
with the processes we use to investigate and act
upon the rare instances when concerns are
raised about pharmacy professionals.
We therefore decided to use ‘revalidation for
pharmacy professionals’ as the term to describe
our proposal for what a future framework of
assurance should look like. We have spent a
considerable researching, testing, piloting and
evaluating our proposals and they have been
developed in collaboration with pharmacy
organisations and pharmacy professionals
themselves.
In 2017/18 we are consulting on our proposals
for revalidation for pharmacy professionals, so
that we can continue to develop them before
they are implemented in 2018.
Changes to CPD call and review
Our council agreed in December 2016 that going
forward, a random sample (a minimum of 2.5
per cent) of pharmacy professionals will have
their CPD records called for review on an annual
basis.
The council carefully considered all the feedback
we received through the consultation we held in
September 2016 about how we call CPD records
for review. Over 2,200 individuals and
organisations responded, and we were
encouraged by the very positive reactions to our
proposals. You can read the consultation
report on our website.
We will also extend, from one year to two, the
amount of time a registrant is exempt from
having their CPD records called after successfully
meeting CPD requirements. This is in response
to feedback from some respondents who
suggested this change to reduce the potential
burden on pharmacy professionals.
CPD remains a core professional responsibility
and we expect registrants to continue to
demonstrate their professionalism by reflecting
regularly on learning and development activities.
Pharmacy professionals will continue to be
expected to record at least nine CPD entries each
year which reflect the context and scope of their
practice, until the new revalidation framework is
finalised and comes into effect.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Consulting on new
standards for pharmacy
technician education and
training
In December 2016 we opened a
consultation on draft standards for
the initial education and training (IET)
of pharmacy technicians. This
represents the first major overhaul of
IET standards for pharmacy
technicians.
The standards aim to both reflect what is
required now of pharmacy technicians at the
point of registration, and to prepare them for the
roles and responsibilities they may take on in the
future. This means not only supporting
pharmacy technicians’ development of
knowledge and skills, but focusing on decision-
making skills, professionalism, and the ability to
work within teams and independently.
We also asked for feedback on proposed
changes to the criteria for registration as a
pharmacy technician, including:
allowing pre-registration trainee pharmacy
technicians to be supervised by a pharmacist
or a pharmacy technician during their
training (currently they must be supervised
by a pharmacist)
removing the option that current or recently
registered pharmacists in Great Britain or
Northern Ireland are able to register as a
pharmacy technician automatically
We received over 350 responses, and gathered
feedback from a range of stakeholders including
students and pharmacy technicians working in a
range of practice settings across England, Wales
and Scotland.
Discussion on pharmacist independent
prescribers
In December 2016 we started a discussion about
the supervision of pharmacist independent
prescribers (PIPs) during their training.
In a discussion paper, we set out proposals to
allow pharmacist prescribers and other
experienced prescribers to supervise PIPs in
training. At the moment, only registered doctors
can supervise PIPs during their training.
Giving this responsibility to practising pharmacist
independent prescribers would give them the
opportunity to train the next generation and
share their experience in the workplace. You can
read the discussion paper on our website.
The new supervision requirements would also, if
approved, remove a potential barrier to
increasing the number of pharmacist
independent prescribers and reduce the
pressure on course providers and services.
The discussion paper presented evidence that
the pharmacist’s role as a prescriber is
developing rapidly and that the use of PIPs was
central to pharmacy policy in England, Scotland
and Wales.
What we heard in response to the paper will help
us develop more detailed proposals about the
supervision requirements and training standards
for pharmacist independent prescribers. We plan
to consult on these in 2017/18.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Providing assurance and
promoting improvement in
registered pharmacies
During 2016/17 we have continued to
build on the positive evaluation of our
revised approach to regulating and
inspecting registered pharmacies,
and its ability to help pharmacies
improve.
We have done this by sharing best practice with
pharmacy professionals and taking opportunities
to collaborate with other inspection and
regulation organisations to improve the care
people receive.
Sharing what we’ve learnt from
inspections
Through a series of articles published in
Regulate, our bi-monthly registrant bulletin, we
shared examples of good practice and innovative
thinking which we gathered through our
inspections of registered pharmacies. During
2016/17 we published five articles. Each gave
background, examples, and sources of further
information on a specific topic covered by the
standards, including:
making a positive impact on people’s
experiences in pharmacy
managing medicines
risk management in pharmacy
privacy and confidentiality in
pharmacy
safeguarding children and vulnerable
adults
We plan to continue to use Regulate as a way to
share knowledge and best practice.
Action plans
During 2016/17 we continued to use action plans
to help pharmacies which were judged ‘poor’, or
‘satisfactory’ but did not meet all the standards,
to improve their services to patients and the
public.
Working together to help make sure
online services are safe and effective
During 2016/17 we worked closely with three
other regulatory bodies – the Care Quality
Commission (CQC), the General Medical Council,
and the Medicines and Healthcare Products
Regulatory Agency – to help people using online
primary care services to receive safe and
effective care.
In a joint statement from the four regulators, we
reminded providers and healthcare
professionals working for online primary care
services that they must provide safe and
effective care. We also explained that we will
• 3,647 pharmacies inspected in 2016/17
• 469 action plans agreed with pharmacies in 2016/17
• 99 per cent of these have made the necessary improvements*
*The remaining one per cent is made up of plans where actions were not yet due, or where they had long lead times
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
14
continue to work closely together to share
intelligence if we have concerns and take action
when necessary to protect patients. We have
also been working closely with the bodies
responsible for assuring the quality of healthcare
in Scotland about this important issue.
We also worked together with the CQC on a
coordinated programme of inspections. The
CQC, which regulates online primary care
services, brought forward a programme of
inspections of service providers it considered as
potentially presenting a significant risk to
patients.
When necessary, we carried out inspections of
the pharmacies linked to the online primary care
services being inspected by the CQC. This was to
assess whether they were meeting our standards
and dealing appropriately with the issues and
risks linked with providing online services.
Exploring quality in
pharmacy practice and
services through a series of
online workshops
During the first few months of 2017,
we held two online workshops to ask
pharmacy professionals to share their
ideas about what quality looks like in
pharmacy practice.
We announced that we would be holding these
online workshops at a seminar we held in
October on ‘professionalism under pressure’. At
the seminar, we:
highlighted the present gap in
understanding about what quality looks like
in pharmacy practice, and
outlined our plans to carry out research with
both pharmacy professionals and people
using pharmacy services to build a greater
understanding in this area
Through the workshops, we wanted to start a
conversation within the pharmacy sector to
arrive at a shared definition of the key elements
of quality, and discover the range of actions that
the pharmacy sector takes to ensure high-quality
services are delivered.
The first workshop ran from 17 to 31 January
2017. During this time, 1,097 participants shared
5,587 ideas, votes and comments, and together
identified seven important elements that
contribute to delivering quality in pharmacy:
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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communicating effectively with service
users
continuously improving services
designing or following standard
processes
leading effectively
maintaining, developing and using
professional knowledge and skills
speaking about concerns
working in partnership with others
We launched our second online workshop on 16
March. This was to discuss and explore with
participants what helps them, and what hinders
them, in delivering each of these elements of
quality that they identified during the first
workshop.
We have used feedback from this work when
drafting guidance on safe and effective
pharmacy teams, which we consult on in
2017/18.
We are analysing in detail all the contributions
we have received and will produce a report
summarising what we’ve heard. We will share
this report with individuals and organisations
across pharmacy and review the outcomes of
this research to consider what work we or others
may need to undertake. The findings will also
help us to decide our priorities for further
research on quality in pharmacy, including
research to build a greater understanding of the
experiences of people using pharmacy services.
Improving the way we
work
During 2016/17 we have built on our
commitment to efficiency and
effectiveness and made sure they are
an essential part of all of the work we
do.
One source of assurance of the way we perform
our regulatory functions is the review carried out
by our oversight body, the Professional
Standards Authority. In 2016/17 we achieved all
the standards of good regulation, and we plan to
sustain this performance as we head into the
2017–2020 reporting period.
We also continued to monitor our operating
costs and make efficiencies in our ways of
working. This allowed us to keep our fees at their
present levels for the 2017/18 financial year,
despite increasing pressures on our costs.
Going forward, we will be investing in a major
programme to transform how we operate our
services, using our available reserves. This
programme should deliver cost savings which
will help us to restrict fee increases in the future.
It also means preparing to make significant
changes to the way we work, to make sure we
keep pace with external developments and are
regulating in the most efficient and effective way.
In 2016 we commissioned a review of our IT
architecture, to help us with this work. The
findings from that review will start to be
implemented in 2017/18. We also began work to
improve the quality and consistency of the data
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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we hold, bringing together data from across our
regulatory functions and from outside sources.
We will continue to monitor our work on
efficiency and effectiveness through our
management processes, and to report to our
council on progress.
Integrating equality,
diversity and inclusion into
the way we work
During 2016/17 we continued to build
equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
into the work we do as a health
professions regulator, a public service
provider and an employer.
As a public body the GPhC has a number of
general legal equality duties arising from the
Equality Act 2010. We want to be an exemplar in
EDI by going beyond what is required by
equalities legislation.
In order to support our aims, this year we have:
reviewed our EDI leadership and reporting
methods and re-established the EDI
leadership group in April 2016. Staff
representing all work areas across the
organisation were recruited into the group
and supported by a comprehensive
induction programme, and training in
unconscious bias awareness
embedded EDI objectives in our business
plan, which shows how we will meet our
public sector equality duty in terms of each
of the programmes of work outlined in the
plan. Our teams will carry out equality
impact assessments and produce action
plans to support any areas where there may
be opportunities, or areas for development,
in relation to EDI. The EDI leadership group
will monitor and report on progress
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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developed an equality impact assessment
(EIA) toolkit, to help staff across the
organisation identify how our policies may
affect registrants, staff and stakeholders in
terms of the protected characteristics they
share. The toolkit gives guidance on each
stage of developing an equality impact
assessment
continued a programme of EDI training,
including providing unconscious bias training
to the inspection and fitness to practise
directorate.
carried out a disability self-assessment as a
first step to understanding in practical terms
what ‘good’ looks like:
– recognising where we are doing well
– obtaining objective evidence for business
improvement, and
– identifying and minimising disability-
related risks
Staff across the organisation were involved in the
assessment, which helped to raise general
awareness of the issue. They were also involved
in developing an action plan to identify our key
priorities in working towards becoming more
‘disability confident’ and meeting the disability
standard
Communicating with the Welsh-speaking
public
We are committed to making sure that Welsh-
speaking members of the public are able to
understand and get involved in our work, as set
out in our Welsh language scheme.
During 2016/17 we continued to publish key
public documents, such as our new FtP guidance
documents, our strategic plan and this annual
report, in Welsh. We will be including Welsh-
language requirements as part of a project to
decide the specification for a new website
platform in 2017/18.
Welsh-language standards
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011
updated the legal framework covering the use of
the Welsh language in delivering public services.
The measure provides for the development of
standards of conduct relating to the Welsh
language. These will gradually replace the
existing system of Welsh language schemes. We
have, along with other healthcare regulators,
continued to engage with the Welsh Government
about the scope and extent of standards that will
apply to us.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Looking to the futureOur strategic plan for 2017–20 says how we will
achieve our key aim of supporting and improving
the delivery of safe, effective care and upholding
trust in pharmacy, by making sure that:
the pharmacy team have the necessary
knowledge, attitudes and behaviours
registered pharmacies deliver safe,
effective care and services
pharmacy regulation is efficient and
effective
And our business plan for 2017/18 sets out our
six priorities for the next three years. These
priorities include:
1. Developing our approach to regulating
registered pharmacies to provide
assurance and encourage
improvement
We plan to further develop our regulatory
approach to improve our ability to provide
assurance that pharmacies are delivering safe,
effective care. We will be considering how to
make our inspection arrangements more flexible
and responsive, as well as making best use of the
intelligence we gather from our regulatory
functions. We will also work on sharing this
intelligence widely with stakeholders to help
bring about learning and improvement across
the sector. We will engage with our stakeholders
about these changes and how they are
implemented.
2. Promoting professionalism through
the standards for pharmacy
professionals and related guidance
The new standards for pharmacy professionals
come into effect in May 2017. We will be working
with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to
embed the standards within their practice. To
support them in this we will be promoting the
key themes within the standards and reviewing,
updating and publishing our guidance that sits
beneath the standards. These standards and
guidance promote professionalism and support
pharmacy professionals in delivering person-
centred care. We will continue to promote
awareness of pharmacy owners’ responsibility to
support the professionalism of pharmacy staff
and enable this to flourish.
3. Providing further assurance to the
public that pharmacy professionals
are meeting the standards
We will continue to develop new arrangements
to provide further assurance that pharmacists
and pharmacy technicians meet standards for
safe and effective practice throughout their
careers. We are holding a consultation on
revalidation for pharmacy professionals, so we
can seek views from the sector and members of
the public on our proposed changes and their
impact.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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4. Setting the standards and quality
assuring the initial education and
training for pharmacists and
pharmacy technicians
Following the consultation in 2016/17, we will
continue to develop and implement new
standards for the initial education and training of
pharmacy technicians. We will also develop and
consult on new standards for the initial
education and training of pharmacists, and for
the education of pharmacist prescribers. We will
consider new ways of accrediting education
providers to make sure they meet these
standards.
5. Developing our data and insight
strategy
In 2017/18, we will take forward our plans to
develop our technological capability to deliver
insight. We will work to improve the quality and
consistency of the data that we hold, bringing
together data from across our regulatory
functions and from outside sources. We will
invest in analytical tools to help us better
understand the data that we hold.
6. Transforming our services and the way
we work
In 2017/18 we will develop a detailed plan for the
service transformation programme which will
cover more specific areas to improve services,
and begin to implement this plan.
This builds on our previous work, including the
information we gathered from the review we
carried out in 2016 of our IT architecture. We will
look to develop a range of projects which help to
transform the services and the information we
provide to our stakeholders – from employers
and other regulatory organisations, to
registrants, patients and members of the public.
We will develop a new ‘case tracker’ tool so that
we can monitor the concerns we are dealing with
more easily, starting from the point when a
concern is received, through to the decision a
panel makes. We will also develop a new online
system for registrants to record and submit their
continuing professional development (CPD)
activity.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Annual fitness to practise report How concerns came to us in 2016/17
This year the overall number of concerns raised with us went down slightly. In 2016/17 we received
1,889 concerns, 50 fewer than in 2015/16.
What is fitness to practise? We describe fitness to practise (FtP) as a person’s suitability to be on our register without restrictions. Dealing effectively with fitness to practise concerns is at the heart of our commitment to protecting patients and the public, and maintaining public confidence in pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. If you are concerned that a pharmacist or pharmacy technician registered with us is not fit to practise, you can report your concern to us.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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How we deal with concerns
We carefully review and assess every
concern we receive. This initial review
will help us decide what should
happen next.
The review may result in a case being closed at
this point because it is not within our powers to
deal with it (it is ‘outside our jurisdiction’).
If we can deal with a case, we will start an
investigation. This will be led by an inspector or a
specialist case worker, or – if it is a complicated
case – both. Following the investigation, we may
decide to:
take no further action, because we are
satisfied that there is no case to answer
issue a letter including guidance
recommend that the evidence is
considered by an investigating committee
Many cases are closed at this point, often with
guidance which tells the pharmacy professional
involved what they must learn from the concerns
raised. We keep a copy of this letter on our
records. Only the most serious cases are
referred to either the investigating committee or
the fitness to practise committee. Both
committees are made up of both pharmacy
professionals and a ‘lay’ member of the public.
The investigating committee (IC), which meets in
private, can decide to:
take no action
agree ‘undertakings’ with a registrant
issue a warning or a ‘letter of advice’, or
refer the case to a fitness to practise
committee for a hearing
The fitness to practise committee (FtPC) is a
panel which operates independently of the
GPhC, and is usually made up of three members.
The FtPC, which usually holds hearings in public,
decides if a pharmacy professional is fit to
practise.
If it finds that they are not fit to practise, it can:
give them a warning
set conditions that limit how they can
practise
suspend or remove them from the
register
If we receive a concern where a registrant’s
behaviour or practice presents a serious
continuing risk to patient safety, or if they have a
health condition which means that they are a risk
to themselves or the public, we can apply to the
fitness to practise committee for an ‘interim
order’. Interim orders allow for a pharmacy
professional’s registration to be suspended, or
made subject to conditions, while we carry out
our investigation.
Sanctions may be imposed by a fitness to
practise committee, and can include a pharmacy
professional being suspended or removed from
the register. Sanctions are not about punishing
past conduct. Rather, they reflect the interests of
the public – either to ensure public safety, to
maintain public confidence in the profession, or
to maintain proper standards of behaviour.
You can find out more about how we deal with
fitness to practise concerns on our website.
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Outcomes of cases closed in 2016/17
Dealing with concerns in
2016/17
Despite the number of concerns we
received remaining relatively stable,
we reduced our ‘open’ caseload (the
number of cases that we are working
on at any one time).
As at 31 March 2017, we had 685 open cases, a
reduction of nine per cent compared with the
caseload in 2015/16.
We have achieved this by continuing to improve
and refine our case management process. And
we have focused on progressing cases older than
12 months through to closure, while keeping on
top of the new concerns coming in. As a result
our performance has been equal to last year’s,
and in some areas improved. For example, 83
per cent of new concerns were concluded within
seven months.
Our improving productivity has resulted in our
open caseload continuing to get younger. As of
31 March 2017, 56 per cent of our open caseload
is now between zero and six months old – a
three per cent improvement on the previous
year.
We will continue our work to make further
measurable progress in 2017/18 to resolve
concerns more quickly about the fitness to
practise of pharmacy professionals.
Occasionally, an appeal is made against the
outcome of a fitness to practise committee
decision – this is done by lodging an appeal in
court. Across the course of this year, 10 appeals
which had been brought to the High Court were
concluded. With the exception of one case, in
which the sanction of removal was substituted
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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for a period of suspension by the Supreme
Court, all appeals were dismissed by the High
Court.
Although the Supreme Court substituted the
sanction of removal with one of suspension on
the specific facts of the case, it upheld our appeal
on an important point of law relating to the
sanctions available to our fitness to practise
committee.
We have also continued to bring criminal
prosecutions against people practising as a
pharmacist or pharmacy technician while not on
our register, when it has been proportionate to
do so. Practising without being registered can
cause significant risk to patients, is illegal and is
dealt with by the criminal courts. During 2016/17
we brought five criminal prosecutions, all of
which have resulted in convictions.
Having worked closely with a number of
stakeholders, in September 2016 we published
Thinking of reporting a concern to us? A guide
for employers and locum agencies. The guide
helps employers and agencies to decide how
best to manage concerns about a pharmacy
professional, and whether they need to involve
us, by explaining:
the kind of issues we need to investigate
the information we will need to gather,
and
how we make decisions about a
pharmacy professional’s fitness to
practise
We have also worked very closely with Welsh
Chief Pharmacists and the Wales Centre for
Pharmacy Professional Education to develop
learning resources about fitness to practise and
to better explain how we investigate if a
pharmacy professional’s fitness to practise is
impaired.
How do I find out about fitness to practise hearings? Fitness to practise committee hearings are usually held in public at our Pharmacy Hearings Centre and members of the public are welcome to attend.
Some fitness to practise committee hearings are held in private if, for example, there are matters involving a registrant’s health.
You can find out about upcoming hearings, and about decisions the fitness to practise committee has made on our website.
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Our reporting requirementsUnder the Pharmacy Order 2010
there are certain items we have to
report as part of demonstrating our
accountability to parliament.
We have to publish annual reports and accounts,
and provide them to the Privy Council Office for
laying in the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
We have to publish:
an annual report on how we have carried
out our work, including the arrangements
we have that make sure we follow good
practice in relation to equality and
diversity
a statistical report which shows the
efficiency and effectiveness of our
arrangements to protect members of the
public from registrants whose fitness to
practise is impaired. The report includes a
description of the arrangements and the
council’s comments on the report
annual accounts, in a form set by the
Privy Council
our external auditors’ report on our
accounts
This report is published to meet these
requirements.
The Privy Council has issued an ‘accounts
determination’, setting out what we must include
when preparing our annual accounts. The
accounts determination is in appendix 1 to our
financial statements. Our accounts have been
produced in line with this determination.
As a body funded by registrants’ fees and
independent of government, we are not covered
by the treasury guidance on managing public
money. But we want to follow best practice, both
in being transparent and in communicating with
members of the public, who are our main
stakeholders. We have therefore aimed to keep
our reporting as clear and straightforward as
possible, with the least amount of duplication.
We have provided a governance statement by
the chief executive and registrar. This covers the
systems we have to support the council’s
strategy and objectives, while safeguarding the
organisation’s assets. The statement also
includes the chief executive’s review of the
effectiveness of our systems of internal control.
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How we govern ourselvesThe council is the GPhC’s governing
body and is appointed by the Privy
Council. It sets the strategic direction
and objectives for the organisation, in
line with its statutory objectives.
It monitors the organisation’s performance, and
that of the senior leadership group. It also
safeguards the organisation’s assets and makes
sure its financial affairs are run properly.
The GPhC’s council has 14 members: seven lay
members and seven registrant members. There
is at least one member who lives or works in
each of England, Scotland and Wales. There were
no changes to the council membership during
the year. Two council members’ terms ended on
31 March 2017, and the GPhC is grateful for the
contributions made by the outgoing council
members: Sarah Brown and Liz Kay.
These vacancies were filled after a rigorous
selection process and the new appointments
have been confirmed by the Privy Council. We
were pleased to welcome, from 1 April 2017,
Elizabeth Mailey and Jayne Salt.
The council has agreed a structure of pay and
expenses for its members that is in line with the
Nolan Committee’s standards in public life. It
avoids features that would undermine good
governance.
Council development The council is committed to appraising its members’ performance, and its own performance as a governing body, every year. Council members are appraised by the chair of council each summer. The chair also receives feedback from an external consultant following a ‘360-degree’ appraisal. The council considers its own performance as a governing body each year.
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Council members’ pay and attendance
April 2016 to March 2017
This table records council members’ attendance at regular formal meetings only. Council members
do take part in other meetings and events. This has included, for example, working on assurance
groups and attending engagement events across Great Britain, working with our stakeholders.
Name Registrant or
lay member
Pay1
£
Council
meetings
attended2
Council
workshops
attended
Committee meetings
held or attended
Nigel Clarke3 Lay 48,000 9 out of 9 11 out of 11
Alan Kershaw Lay 12,000 8 out of 9 8 out of 11
Arun Midha Lay 12,000 7 out of 8 7 out of 11
Berwyn Owen Pharmacist 12,000 8 out of 9 10 out of 11
David Prince4 Lay 14,000 7 out of 9 9 out of 11 4 out of 4 (A&RC)
Digby Emson Pharmacist 12,000 7 out of 9 8 out of 11 4 out of 4 (A&RC)
Evelyn McPhail Pharmacist 12,000 9 out of 9 11 out of 11
Elizabeth Kay5 Pharmacist 14,000 8 out of 9 10 out of 11 2 out of 2 (RemC)
Joanne Kember Pharmacist 12,000 9 out of 9 11 out of 11
Mark Hammond Lay 12,000 9 out of 9 10 out of 11 2 out of 4 (A&RC)
Mary Elford Lay 12,000 8 out of 9 10 out of 11
Mohammed Hussain Pharmacist 12,000 6 out of 9 8 out of 11 2 out of 4 (A&RC)
Samantha Quaye Pharmacy
technician 12,000 8 out of 9 10 out of 11
Sarah Brown Lay 12,000 8 out of 9 11 out of 11 2 out of 2 (RemC)
Key: A&RC = audit and risk committee, RemC = remuneration committee
1 Council members’ pay is given as a gross figure. 2 The attendance figures cover both formal meetings and informal workshops of the council, and committee attendance. All council
members must take part in other events such as strategy days, stakeholder meetings, interview panels and task groups and do the
relevant preparation. They do not receive extra payment for these. 3 Chair of council 4 Includes £2,000 for chairing the audit and risk committee 5 Includes £2,000 for chairing the remuneration committee
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Council members’ expenses
April 2016 to March 2017
Expenses directly and solely related to GPhC business are paid in line with the relevant GPhC policy.
Members have received different amounts of expenses because they attended different numbers of
events outside our formal meetings and live in different parts of Great Britain. This affects the
distances they travel and whether they need accommodation.
Expenses for council members are covered by a PAYE settlement agreement with HM Revenue &
Customs.
Name Travel Accommodation Subsistence Total
Alan Kershaw 68.70 95.40 22.30 186.40
Arun Midha 1,703.50 1,038.50 229.94 2,971.94
Berwyn Owen 1,832.20 1,528.00 249.02 3,609.22
David Prince 738.78 0.00 0.00 738.78
Digby Emson 2,035.75 155.00 34.50 2,225.25
Elizabeth Kay 1,141.55 875.10 114.25 2,130.90
Evelyn McPhail 4,287.01 267.50 21.00 4,575.51
Joanne Kember 1,777.95 2,263.50 385.32 4,426.77
Mark Hammond 1,162.30 465.00 21.00 1,648.30
Mary Elford 151.50 0.00 0.00 151.50
Mohammed Hussain 1,058.35 474.95 26.04 1,559.34
Nigel Clarke 960.87 300.00 32.40 1,293.27
Samantha Quaye 154.60 0.00 20.00 174.60
Sarah Brown 199.85 0.00 0.00 199.85
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GPhC committees
Statutory committees
Under the Pharmacy Order 2010 there are three
statutory committees: investigating, fitness to
practise and appeals.
Investigating committee
This committee considers concerns about a
registrant’s fitness to practise, or a person’s
suitability to run a community pharmacy
business. The committee decides whether to
refer a concern to the fitness to practise
committee for a full hearing.
Fitness to practise committee
This committee makes decisions about whether
a registrant’s fitness to practise is impaired
because of their conduct, professional
performance or health. The committee also
makes decisions about whether a person should
be disqualified from running a community
pharmacy business.
Appeals committee
This committee considers appeals about
registration and education matters.
Non-statutory committees
The council has decided that any other, non-
statutory, committees should be kept to a
minimum to help limit bureaucracy and make
sure responsibilities are clearly defined. The
GPhC has three non-statutory committees: audit
and risk, remuneration and appointments.
Audit and risk committee
The audit and risk committee supports the
council by reviewing the GPhC's internal and
external audit arrangements. It also reviews the
arrangements for managing risks. It provides
assurance to the council that risks are being
identified and managed. This includes advising
the council on the assurances provided in
respect of risk and internal controls.
The committee is made up of four council
members including the chair, David Prince. David
stepped down from the committee on 31 March
2017 after chairing it for four years. He remains a
council member.
The committee also has an independent
member, Hilary Daniels, who also stepped down
from the committee on 31 March 2017 after
serving for six years.
We are grateful to both David and Hilary for their
commitment and contribution to the work of the
committee over the years.
Digby Emson, council member, has been
appointed as the new committee chair, and
following a successful appointment process,
Helen Dearden is the new independent member.
The audit and risk committee met four times in
the year: in May, July and October 2016, and in
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January 2017. The committee continues to focus
on risks to the GPhC’s ability to achieve its
strategic objectives. The committee has reviewed
the risk register at each meeting and its reviews
have been used as part of the council's scrutiny
of the chief executive and registrar's reports on
risk management.
The annual internal audit plan is based on the
three-year internal audit strategy agreed with
internal auditors Moore Stephens in 2014/15.
Under the strategy there is a systematic and
prioritised review of policies, procedures and
operations, and the focus of internal audit is on
higher-risk areas. The committee reviewed ten
internal audit reports, one of which was advisory:
Report Assurance rating
Business continuity and
disaster recovery
Green/amber
Core financial controls Green/amber
Interim events Amber
Transformation Advisory
European professional
card
Green/amber
Evidence room Green/amber
SharePoint review Green/amber
Integrity of the register Amber
Key performance
indicators and
management
information
Amber
Equality, diversity and
inclusion
Green/amber
Explanation of the ratings
Green: overall, there is a sound control
framework in place to achieve system
objectives, and the controls to manage the
risks audited are being consistently applied.
There may be some weaknesses but these
are relatively small or relate to achieving
higher or best practice standards.
Green-amber: generally a good control
framework is in place. However, some
minor weaknesses have been identified in
the control framework, or there are areas of
non-compliance which may put the
achievement of system or business
objectives at risk.
Amber: weaknesses have been identified in
the control framework or there is non-
compliance, and this puts the achievement
of system objectives at risk. Some remedial
action will be needed.
Amber-red: significant weaknesses have
been identified in the control framework or
there is non-compliance with controls, and
this puts the achievement of system
objectives at risk. Remedial action should be
taken promptly.
Red: fundamental weaknesses have been
identified in the control framework or there
is non-compliance with controls, and this
leaves the systems open to error or abuse.
Remedial action is needed as a priority.
Advisory: these reports do not have a
formal assurance rating as they are a review
of work areas that are ongoing and not
complete.
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The committee continued its oversight of the
organisation's risk management and information
governance arrangements. It also followed up
and challenged how the associated plans, and
any actions from internal audit reports, were
implemented.
The committee also reviews the actions relating
to previous assurance reviews, and it received
assurance reports on the following areas of the
GPhC's work:
internal communications
human resources
investment policy
service transformation
Remuneration committee
The remuneration committee has the power,
delegated from the GPhC’s governing council, to
approve or reject the pay framework for GPhC
employees and the packages for the chief
executive and directors. The committee advises
the council on the remuneration (pay) policy for
council members and on the expenses policy for
council members and staff.
The committee is also responsible for setting the
remuneration and expenses policy for associates
and partners.
The committee is made up of four council
members including the chair, Liz Kay, who
stepped down from the committee when her
term of office as a council member ended on 31
March 2017. Liz has chaired the committee since
2010 and we are very grateful for her
contribution to and leadership of the committee.
The committee had previously committed to
increasing the number of independent members
from one to two and, following a successful
appointment process, Rob Goward and Janet
Rubin were appointed to the committee from 1
October 2016.
The committee met twice in the year: April and
September 2016.
Over the year the committee considered the pay
of the chief executive and registrar, directors and
employees. The committee’s other work in this
area focused on pay benchmarking for senior
staff. The committee also recommended to
council that there should be no change to the
pay rates for the chair and members of the
council.
The committee also reviewed the statutory
committee members’ cancellation policy. This
covers associates that are involved in hearings.
Appointments committee
This committee is responsible for recruiting and
appointing statutory committee members. It also
oversees arrangements for their training and for
reviewing their performance.
The committee reports to the council, but no
council members serve on the committee. It also
has an independent chair, Elizabeth Filkin. This is
an important part of making sure there is a
proper separation of tasks between the council
and the statutory committees.
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Chief executive and registrar and directors
The GPhC’s staff is headed by the chief executive
and registrar, and grouped around four
directorates:
Inspection and fitness to practise:
Claire Bryce-Smith, director
Operations:
vacant
Strategy:
Hugh Simpson, director
Organisational development and
equality, diversity and inclusion:
Vivienne Murch, director (retired 30 April
2017)
Senior leadership group
The senior leadership group has been set up by
the chief executive and registrar as a way of
carrying out a number of key executive
governance responsibilities. The senior
leadership group is made up of the chief
executive and registrar; the directors; the head
of governance, Matthew Hayday; and the chief of
staff, Lyn Wibberley.
You can find more information about our
structure on our website.
Accounting requirements
The GPhC must, under the Pharmacy Order
2010, prepare annual accounts in a form set by
the Privy Council. We must prepare accounts for
each year in line with UK accounting principles
and the disclosure requirements prescribed in
the United Kingdom Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice (GAAP). The accounts must
be prepared so they give a true and fair view of
the state of affairs of the organisation, and of its
income and spending, recognised gains and
losses, and cash flows for the financial year.
Number and types of complaints
We received 160 complaints about our services
in 2016/17 (189 in 2015/16). Some complaints
were about more than one issue so we have set
them out in the table according to the main
theme of the complaint.
Issue Total
2016/17
GPhC process 81
Outcome of a concern/GPhC
decision
33
Information and data 17
myGPhC 0
Staff conduct 18
Equality and diversity 0
Standards and assessment 8
Fees 0
Other 3
Total 160
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How we meet freedom of information
and data protection legislation
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI),
anyone can ask to see GPhC records. You can
find out how to do this on our website at:
www.pharmacyregulation.org/freedom-
information
Our publication scheme – the ‘model publication
scheme’, revised and approved by the
Information Commissioner (ICO) in 2014 for all
health regulators – commits us to publishing
information routinely.
As a registered data controller under the Data
Protection Act 1998 (DPA), we collect, store and
use personal data. We use this data for, for
example, updating the register, dealing with
complaints, compiling statistics and keeping our
stakeholders up to date with information about
the GPhC.
We may share personal data with other
organisations in the public interest and to
support our statutory role and responsibilities.
You can find out more about how we use and
protect personal data and the organisations
we work with on our website.
As part of our commitment to information
security we are continuing to align our work to
ISO 27001, the international standard for
information security.
There were no personal data breaches
reportable to the ICO in the year.
In 2016/17, we received 212 information
requests under the Freedom of Information and
Data Protection Acts.
Disclosure rates 2016/17
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
FOI DPA Subject
access
Fully provided Partially provided
Not disclosed
General Pharmaceutical Council
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Information request type Total
2016/17
FoI 155
DPA* 33
Subject access** 24
* DPA cases are those when a third-party
organisation makes a request for the personal
data of an individual and we consider disclosure
under one of the exemptions in the Data
Protection Act.
**Subject access requests are when someone
asks us to disclose to them the information we
hold about them. We aim to be as transparent as
possible in these cases, but may not be able to
provide all the information they ask for. For
example, we may ‘redact’ (edit or remove)
information that contains the personal data of
other people.
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Governance statement 2016/17 Scope of responsibility
As chief executive and registrar, I am
accountable to the council for maintaining a
sound system of internal control that supports
the council’s strategy and objectives, while
safeguarding the GPhC’s assets. I am also
responsible for making sure that GPhC business
is conducted in line with the law and proper
standards.
In carrying out this overall responsibility, I am
responsible for putting in place proper
arrangements for the governance of the GPhC’s
affairs and for making sure it carries out its
functions effectively. This includes arrangements
for risk management.
The purpose of the governance
framework
Governance is about the GPhC making sure it is
doing the right things, in the right way, for the
right people, and in a timely, inclusive, open,
honest and accountable manner.
The governance framework is made up of:
the systems, processes, culture and
values by which the GPhC is directed and
controlled, and
the GPhC’s activities, through which it
engages with registrants, the public and
other stakeholders
The framework allows the GPhC to monitor the
achievement of its objectives and to consider
whether those objectives have been met in an
effective and efficient manner.
The system of internal control is a significant part
of that framework and is designed to manage
risk to a reasonable level. It cannot eliminate all
risk of failure to deliver policies, aims and
objectives. Therefore it can only provide
reasonable (and not absolute) assurance of
effectiveness. The system of internal control is
based on an ongoing process designed to
identify and prioritise these risks, to evaluate the
likelihood and possible impact of those risks
being realised, and to manage them effectively,
efficiently and economically.
The governance framework has been in place at
the GPhC for the year ended 31 March 2017 and
up to the date of approval of the annual report
and statement of accounts.
The governance framework
Our vision for pharmacy regulation is set out in
the GPhC strategic plan 2017–20. Our key
streams of work which will help us achieve our
strategic aims are explained in the GPhC
business plan 2017–20. Both documents are on
the GPhC website.
Our business plan gives our senior leadership
and staff a clear focus. It gives us a framework
we can use to monitor what we are doing to
achieve our priorities, so that we can assess our
progress and performance in implementing the
strategic plan. In turn, key streams of work are
supported by more detailed team plans, which
are also regularly monitored and reviewed.
You can find more information about the
governance framework, including organisational
structure and the workings of our committees,
on pages 28-30 of this annual report.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
35
Review of effectiveness
As chief executive and registrar, I am responsible
for reviewing the effectiveness of the GPhC’s
governance framework, including the system of
internal control. The review of effectiveness is
supported by:
the work of the executive managers within
the GPhC, who have responsibility for the
development and maintenance of the
governance environment
the head of internal audit’s annual report,
and
comments received from the external
auditors and other review agencies
The council has appointed Moore Stephens as
our internal auditors. As in previous years, an
annual audit plan was compiled using
professional judgement, risk evaluation, and
reference to the three-year internal audit
strategy 2014–17. To make sure there is
sufficient breadth of coverage, the adequacy and
effectiveness of the system of internal control
has been assessed in relation to main service
delivery areas, the management systems that
enable us to deliver them, and to our core
processes.
As part of preparing for change, we have worked
with internal audit to ensure our system of
internal control is fit for both the present and
future. This has resulted in our having to address
more challenging findings than in previous years,
but has provided an assurance foundation for
our programme of work going forward. In their
annual report, the head of internal audit has
acknowledged the impact of the transformation
agenda on our assurance profile, but notes that
this has not had an impact on the annual audit
opinion and reflects our planned improvements
of the internal control processes.
I have been advised on the implications of the
result of the review of effectiveness of the
governance framework by the audit and risk
committee, and advised that the arrangements
continue to be regarded as fit for purpose within
our governance framework. The areas we have
already addressed and those to be specifically
addressed with new actions are outlined below.
Significant governance issues
Governance issue: developing collective
corporate ownership of data to support
future changes to ways of working.
Mitigating/proposed action: work has begun to
review the performance and management
information needed by the GPhC, as well as the
process and technical requirements to supply it.
We will set up a formal project to make sure that
this work delivers on the requirements identified
by the organisation. This will complement the
existing objectives in the business plan 2017–20
on developing our data insight and strategy
Governance issue: providing evidence of the
proper exercise of delegated authority during
the development of new initiatives. This is
related to the scope of interim accreditation
visits to training providers and a lack of
clarity about how these would be carried out,
when the overall methodology was approved
by the council.
Mitigating/proposed action: we will carry out a
review of interim visits and their objectives. This
will then feed into the GPhC review and
consultation on the initial education and training
for pharmacists and how training is accredited.
This will be presented to the council for approval,
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
36
subject to any changes arising from the
consultation.
Governance issue: The timeliness of
information sharing with key internal
stakeholders, and the efficiency of our
processes for doing this.
Mitigating/proposed action: work has begun
which will define ‘never events’* in relation to our
regulatory functions. This will assess the controls
required, address any identified gaps and plan
reporting arrangements. A paper on this will be
brought to the audit and risk committee by
January 2018.
* The NHS defines ‘never events’ as ‘serious,
largely preventable patient safety incidents that
should not occur if existing national guidance or
safety recommendations have been
implemented by healthcare providers’.
Summary
I propose over the coming year to take steps to
address the above matters to further enhance
our governance arrangements. I am satisfied
that these steps will address the need for
improvements that were identified in our review
of effectiveness, and I will monitor their
implementation and operation as part of my
next annual review.
Duncan Rudkin
Chief Executive
7 June 2017
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37
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2017 Review of business activities
During 2016/17 we have built on our
commitment to efficiency and effectiveness while
continuing to meet the changing needs of
patients and the public.
Income
Our total income for the year 2016/17 was
£22.6m (2015/16: £21.4m).
Our income was mainly made up of:
£14m from the 53,967 pharmacists on the
register (2015/16: £13.2m income from 51,906
pharmacists)
£2.9m from the 23,318 pharmacy technicians on
the register (2015/16: £2.7m from 23,074
pharmacy technicians), and
£3.7m from the 14,403 registered pharmacies on
the register (2015/16: £3.6m from 14,397
registered pharmacies).
These figures include annual renewal fees, and
initial registration and application fees.
Income received during the financial year from
pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and
registered pharmacies does not reflect actual
monies received during the year. Income is
recognised in the accounts over the length of the
registration year, with the balance shown on the
balance sheet as deferred income.
Department of Health grant income received in
previous years has been spent in full. An element
of the grant related to capital expenditure and
has been credited to the income statement over
the life of the relevant assets. In 2016/17 £0.6m
of income related to this grant release.
Income received from the pre-registration
assessment exam and the pre-registration year
was £1.1m (2015/16: £1.1m). A total of 3,469
students took the exams, in June and September
2016 (2015: 3,840).
Expenditure
During the year to 31 March 2017 the
organisation delivered on a number of objectives
without an increased requirement for resources.
Please see Note 3 for more details on
expenditure.
The number of staff at the end of the year is the
same as at the beginning of the year although
there has been a high level of turnover. Payroll
costs have increased by 4%.
Surplus/deficit for the year
The budget approved by council for 2016/17
authorised a planned deficit of £1m to be funded
out of existing reserves. The actual result is a
surplus of £0.3m (2015/16 £0.5m deficit). This is
due to increased income as a result of growth in
the register, and maintaining tight controls on
costs, as well as delaying investment in
transformation, which resulted in lower than
budgeted IT costs.
General Pharmaceutical Council
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Statement of the council’s responsibilities for the
preparation of financial statements
The council is responsible for preparing the
General Pharmaceutical Council’s report and the
financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and regulations.
Under the Pharmacy Order 2010, council
members must prepare financial statements for
each financial year. Under that law, the Privy
Council has directed the GPhC to prepare the
financial statements in accordance with United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
(United Kingdom Accounting Standard and
applicable laws) including Financial Reporting
Standard 102. Council members will not approve
the financial statements unless they are satisfied
that they give a true and fair view of the state of
affairs and the surplus or deficit of the GPhC for
that period. In preparing these financial
statements, the council members must:
select suitable accounting policies and then
apply them consistently
make judgements and accounting estimates
that are reasonable and prudent
state whether applicable UK accounting
standards have been followed, and disclose
and explain any material departures from
these in the financial statements
prepare the financial statements on a ‘going-
concern’ basis unless it is inappropriate to
assume that the GPhC will continue its
activities
Council members are responsible for keeping
adequate accounting records. These must be
adequate to show and explain the GPhC’s
transactions, and disclose with reasonable
accuracy – at any time – the financial position of
the GPhC. They must enable the council to
ensure that the financial statements keep to the
Pharmacy Order 2010. Council members are also
responsible for safeguarding the assets of the
GPhC and therefore for taking reasonable steps
to prevent and detect fraud and other
irregularities.
As far as each council member is aware, there is
no relevant audit information of which the
GPhC’s auditors are unaware. Council members
have taken all steps that they ought to have
taken to make themselves aware of any relevant
audit information and to establish that the
auditors are aware of that information.
Appointment of auditors
The GPhC will be carrying out a re-tendering
exercise in 2017/18 with a view to appointing
auditors in the latter part of the year.
By the order of the council
Nigel Clarke
Chair
7 June 2017
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Independent auditor's report to the council members of
the General Pharmaceutical Council
We have audited the financial statements of the
General Pharmaceutical Council (the 'GPhC') for
the year ended 31 March 2017 which comprise
the statement of comprehensive income, the
statement of financial position, the statement of
cash flows, the statement of changes in funds
and the related notes. The financial reporting
framework that has been applied in their
preparation is applicable law and United
Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice),
including FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting
Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of
Ireland'.
This report is made solely to the council
members of the GPhC, as a body, in accordance
with the terms of our engagement. Our audit
work has been undertaken so that we might
state to the council members of the GPhC those
matters we are required to state to them in an
auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the
fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept
or assume responsibility to anyone other than
the GPhC and the council members of the GPhC
as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or
for the opinions we have formed.
Respective responsibilities of council
members and auditor
As explained more fully in the Statement of the
council's responsibilities set out on page 38, the
council is responsible for the preparation of the
financial statements and for being satisfied that
they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility
is to audit and express an opinion on the
financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and International Standards on
Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards
require us to comply with the Auditing Practices
Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.
Scope of the audit of the financial
statements
A description of the scope of an audit of financial
statements is provided on the Financial
Reporting Council's website at
www.frc.org.uk/auditscopeukprivate
Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion, the financial statements give a
true and fair view of the state of the General
Pharmaceutical Council’s affairs as at 31 March
2017 and of its surplus for the year then ended
in accordance with United Kingdom Generally
Accepted Accounting Practice including FRS 102
'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in
the UK and Republic of Ireland'.
Grant Thornton UK LLP
Statutory Auditor, Chartered Accountants
London
7 June 2017
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
40
Statement of comprehensive income
for the year ending 31 March 2017
Note 2017
£000
2016
£000
Income 2 22,595 21,385
Expenditure 3 (22,490) (22,062)
Operating surplus / (deficit) 105 (677)
Interest receivable and similar income 4 194 234
Surplus / (Deficit) on ordinary activities
before taxation
5 299 (443)
Taxation 6 (33) (46)
Total comprehensive income / (loss) for
the year
266 (489)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward 13,359 13,848
Accumulated funds as at 31 March 13,625 13,359
All activities of the GPhC are continuing.
There were no recognised gains and losses for 2017 or 2016 other than those included in the income
statement.
The notes on page 44 to 56 form part of these financial statements.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
41
Statement of financial position
as at 31 March 2017
Note 2017 2017 2016 2016
£000 £000 £000 £000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 7 4,273 5,782
Current assets
Debtors 8 1,646 1,711
Bank and cash 9 26,963 25,651
28,609 27,362
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
10 (15,772) (16,023)
Net current assets 12,837 11,339
Total assets less current liabilities 17,110 17,121
Creditors: amounts falling due after more
than one year
11 (3,310) (3,591)
Provisions for liabilities 12 (175) (171)
Total net assets 13,625 13,359
Funds employed
Accumulated surplus 13,625 13,359
Total funds employed 13,625 13,359
The financial statements on pages 40 to 56 were approved and signed on behalf of the council by:
Nigel Clarke
Chair
7 June 2017
The notes on page 44 to 56 form part of these financial statements.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
42
Statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 March 2017
Note 2017 2016
£000 £000
Cash flows from operating activities
Surplus / (deficit) for the financial year 105 (677)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of tangible assets 1,588 1,058
Loss on sale of tangible assets - 83
Release of capital contribution (451) (455)
Taxation (44) (36)
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other debtors 65 (197)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other creditors (207) 204
Net cash generated from operating activities 1,056 (20)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of tangible fixed assets (79) (15)
Capital contribution 11 141 147
Interest received 4 194 234
Net cash from investing activities 256 366
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 1,312 346
Net cash funds as at 1 April 25,651 25,305
Transfer to restricted cash - (30)
Unrestricted cash at end of year 26,963 25,621
Restricted cash in escrow account - 30
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 26,963 25,651
The notes on page 44 to 56 form part of these financial statements.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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Statement of changes in funds
for the year ending 31 March 2017
Accumulated
funds
£000
At 1 April 2015 13,848
Deficit for the year (489)
At 31 March 2016 13,359
Surplus for the year 266
At 31 March 2017 13,625
The notes on page 44 to 56 form part of these financial statements.
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
44
Notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2017
1 Accounting policies
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) was established by the Pharmacy Order 2010 and is
domiciled in the United Kingdom. The principal place of business is 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf,
London E14 5LQ.
1.1 The format of the accounts
The General Pharmaceutical Council is required to prepare annual accounts in a form as determined
by the Privy Council. The Privy Council is required to lay the certified accounts before each House of
Parliament and the Scottish Parliament. The statutory purpose of the GPhC is to protect, promote
and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of members of the public by upholding standards and
public trust in pharmacy.
These financial statements have been prepared on a going-concern basis in accordance with
applicable United Kingdom accounting standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 – ‘The
Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland’ (‘FRS 102’).
The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis.
The financial statements are presented in Sterling (£).
1.2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements
To be able to prepare financial statements in accordance with FRS 102, the General Pharmaceutical
Council must make certain estimates and judgements that have an impact on the policies and the
amounts reported in the annual accounts. The estimates and judgements are based on historical
experiences and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be
reasonable at the time such estimates and judgements are made. Actual experience may vary from
these estimates.
The estimates and assumptions which have the most significant risk of causing a material adjustment
to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities are discussed below:
Depreciation and amortisation
The General Pharmaceutical Council accounts for depreciation and amortisation in accordance with
FRS 102. The depreciation and amortisation expense is the recognition of the decline in the value of
the asset and allocation of the cost of the asset over the periods in which the asset will be used.
Judgements are made on the estimated useful life of the assets which are regularly reviewed to
reflect the changing environment.
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Provisions
The General Pharmaceutical Council accounts for provisions in accordance with FRS 102. There are
currently two types of provisions
i A bad debt provision is set up when a debt has been outstanding for a period of more than 12
months or the GPhC becomes aware that the likelihood of recovering the debt is diminished.
The level of provision will be based on any current repayment plan entered into and which is
being adhered to by the debtor, together with an estimate of the likelihood of the amounts
due being fully recovered.
In line with FRS 102 a provision has been set up to account for any annual leave entitlement which
remains outstanding at 31 March.
1.3 Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets include leasehold properties and equipment. All assets in these categories with
a value of £1,000 or more have been capitalised (including the cost of implementation). Fixed assets
are valued at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight line basis.
The lease on 25 Canada Square in Canary Wharf is for 15 years with a lessee-only break-clause after
10 years. The GPhC has benefitted from a capital contribution of £4.1m, by way of landlord incentive,
towards the fitting-out of the premises. This amount is being spread over the ten-year lease period to
offset the annual rental costs.
The principal useful economic lives of assets are as follows:
Leasehold property – ten years
Office furniture – five years
Computer software – five years
Computer hardware (excluding PCs and laptops) – three years
PCs and laptops – one to three years
1.4 Impairment
At each balance sheet date, the General Pharmaceutical Council reviews the carrying amounts of its
assets to determine whether there is any indication the assets have suffered an impairment loss. If
any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the
extent of the impairment loss. An impairment loss is charged to the statement of comprehensive
income immediately.
1.5 Expenditure
Expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis when either the goods have been received or the
service performed. Irrecoverable VAT is included with the item of expense to which it relates.
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1.6 Income
All fees from registrants and premises are shown in the statement of comprehensive income for the
period to which they relate. Income attributable to future periods is included in creditors under
deferred income.
Interest on loans and deposits is accrued as earned.
Government grants are recognised based on the accrual model and classified either as a grant
relating to revenue or a grant relating to assets.
All other income is shown in the statement of comprehensive income when due.
1.7 Pension costs
Past and present employees are covered by the provisions of the two NHS Pension schemes. Details
of the benefits payable and rules of the schemes can be found on the NHS Pensions website at
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pensions. Both are unfunded defined benefit schemes that cover NHS
employers, GP practices and other bodies, allowed under the direction of the Secretary of State in
England and Wales. They are not designed to be run in a way that would enable NHS bodies to
identify their share of the underlying scheme assets and liabilities. Therefore, each scheme is
accounted for as if it were a defined contribution scheme: the cost to the GPhC of participating in
each scheme is taken as equal to the contributions payable to that scheme for the accounting period.
In order that the defined benefit obligations recognised in the financial statements do not differ
materially from those that would be determined at the reporting date by a formal actuarial valuation,
the financial reporting manual (FReM) requires that “the period between formal valuations shall be
four years, with approximate assessments in intervening years”. An outline of these follows:
a Accounting valuation
A valuation of scheme liability is carried out annually by the scheme actuary (currently the
Government Actuary’s Department) as at the end of the reporting period. This utilises an actuarial
assessment for the previous accounting period in conjunction with updated membership and
financial data for the current reporting period, and is accepted as providing suitably robust figures for
financial reporting purposes. The valuation of scheme liability as at 31 March 2017, is based on
valuation data as at 31 March 2016, updated to 31 March 2017 with summary global member and
accounting data. In undertaking this actuarial assessment, the methodology prescribed in IAS 19,
relevant FReM interpretations, and the discount rate prescribed by HM Treasury have also been
used.
The latest assessment of the liabilities of the scheme is contained in the scheme actuary report,
which forms part of the annual NHS pension scheme (England and Wales) pension accounts. These
accounts can be viewed on the NHS Pensions website and are published annually. Copies can also be
obtained from The Stationery Office.
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Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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b Full actuarial (funding) valuation
The purpose of this valuation is to assess the level of liability in respect of the benefits due under the
schemes (taking into account their recent demographic experience), and to recommend contribution
rates payable by employees and employers.
The last published actuarial valuation undertaken for the NHS Pension scheme was completed for
the year ending 31 March 2012. The scheme regulations allow for the level of contribution rates to be
changed by the Secretary of State for Health, with the consent of HM Treasury, and consideration of
the advice of the scheme actuary and appropriate employee and employer representatives as
deemed appropriate.
The next actuarial valuation is to be carried out as at 31 March 2016. This will set the employer
contribution rate payable from April 2019 and will consider the cost of the scheme relative to the
employer cost cap. There are provisions in the Public Service Pension Act 2013 to adjust member
benefits or contribution rates if the cost of the scheme changes by more than 2% of pay. Subject to
this ‘employer cost cap’ assessment, any required revisions to member benefits or contribution rates
will be determined by the Secretary of State for Health after consultation with the relevant
stakeholders.
c Scheme provisions
The NHS pension scheme is a defined benefit public service pension scheme, which operates on a
pay-as-you-go basis. A new reformed scheme was introduced on 1 April 2015 that calculates pension
benefits based on career average earnings. Transitional arrangements permit individuals who on 1
April 2012 were within ten years of normal pension age to continue participating in the old ‘final
salary’ NHS Pension Scheme arrangements (the 1995 and 2008 sections). The NHS pension scheme
provides defined benefits, which are summarised below. This list is an illustrative guide only, and is
not intended to detail all the benefits provided by the scheme or the specific conditions that must be
met before the benefits can be obtained.
The 1995 section is a final salary scheme. Annual pensions are normally based on 1/80th of the
best of the last three years’ pensionable pay for each year of service
The 2008 section is a final salary scheme. Annual pensions are normally based on 1/60th of the
average of the best three consecutive years within the last 10 years for each year of service
The 2015 scheme is a career average revalued earnings (“CARE”) scheme. Annual pensions are
normally based on 1/54th of career average revalued earnings for each year of service
With effect from 1 April 2008 members can choose to give up some of their annual pension for an
additional tax-free lump sum, up to a maximum permitted under HMRC rules. This new provision is
known as pension commutation.
Annual increases are applied to pension payments at rates defined by the (Increase) Act 1971 and are
based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the twelve months ending 30 September in
the previous calendar year. Early payment of a pension with enhancement is available to members of
General Pharmaceutical Council
Annual report: annual fitness to practise report and annual accounts 2016/17
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the scheme who are permanently incapable of fulfilling their duties effectively through illness or
infirmity. A death gratuity of twice their final year’s pensionable pay for death in service, and five
times their annual pension for death after retirement is payable.
For early retirement other than those due to ill health the additional pension liabilities are not funded
by the scheme. The full amount of the liability for the additional costs is charged to the employer.
Members can purchase additional service in the NHS scheme and contribute to money purchase
additional voluntary contributions run by the scheme’s approved provider, or by other free-standing
AVC providers.
d Defined contribution scheme
The GPhC set up a defined contribution scheme in February 2014 but the assets are entirely
independent from those of the NHS scheme. The plan is not contracted out of the State Second
Pension. Employees’ participation is voluntary, although all staff are initially required to be opted in.
Where an employee chooses to be a member, the GPhC will contribute as follows:
Employee contribution Employer contribution
1-5% 1-5%
6% 12%
7% 14% max
From April 2018 employer and employee minimum contributions will be 3%, rising to 5% from April
2019.
Contributions to the defined contribution scheme are charged to the statement of comprehensive
income as they fall due.
1.8 Operating lease rentals
Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the
risks and rewards of ownership of the leased asset to the entity. All other leases are classified as
operating leases. Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the statement of
comprehensive income on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The aggregate benefit of lease
incentives is recognised as a reduction to the expense recognised over the lease term on a straight-
line basis.
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1.9 Management of liquid resources
The GPhC has one main current account from which all day-to-day transactions take place. The
balance of this account is kept to a minimum to ensure that surplus funds are placed on short- to
medium-term deposits. The policy in managing cash is to maximise returns while minimising risk.
1.10 Long-term liabilities
The landlord has contributed to the fit-out of 25 Canada Square which has been spread over the term
of the lease.
1.11 Financial instruments
The GPhC only enters into basic financial instrument transactions that result in the recognition of
financial assets and liabilities like trade and other accounts receivable and payable, loans from banks
and other third parties and loans to related parties. Basic financial instruments are initially
recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost.
2 Income
2017
£000
2016
£000
Pharmacists 13,997 13,190
Premises 3,695 3,574
Pharmacy technicians 2,901 2,691
Pre-registration 1,080 1,132
Grant income 625 308
Other income 297 490
Total income 22,595 21,385
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3 Expenditure
2017
£000
2016
£000
Employee costs: payroll 10,856 10,447
Other employee costs 2,411 2,811
Property costs 278 294
Office costs 357 439
Professional costs 2,335 2,015
Event costs 489 416
Marketing costs 106 149
Financial costs 1,722 1,197
Research costs 102 180
IT costs 1,573 1,893
Other costs 236 200
Occupancy costs 2,025 2,021
Total expenditure 22,490 22,062
Employee costs
Employee costs including directors were made up as follows:
2017
£000
2016
£000
Wages and salaries 9,108 8,801
Employer’s National Insurance 1,009 887
Pension costs 739 759
10,856 10,447
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Expenditure (continued)
As at 31 March 2017 the number of staff employed by the GPhC was 224 (224 at 31 March 2016).
The average number of staff employed during the year ended 31 March 2017 was 222 (220 for the
year ended 31 March 2016).
Detailed below is a schedule showing numbers of staff, excluding directors, who are earning above
£50,000:
2017 2016
£50,001 – £60,000 29 23
£60,001 – £70,000 6 5
£70,001 – £80,000 11 9
£80,001 – £90,000 1 -
£90,001 -– £100,000 1 1
48 38
Under FRS 102, key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for
planning, directing and controlling the activities of the entity, directly or indirectly. This includes the
chief executive and registrar and the directors.
Remuneration in respect of key management personnel was as follows:
2017
£000
2016
£000
Wages and salaries 468 524
Employer’s National Insurance 60 63
Pension costs 33 42
561 629
The key management personnel remuneration, excluding pension contributions, fell within the
following ranges:
2017 2016
Number of
individuals
Number of
individuals
£70,001 – £80,000 - 2
£80,001 – £90,000 1 -
£90,001 – £100,000 - 1
£100,001 – £110,000 1 -
£110,001 – £120,000 1 1
£160,001 – £170,000 1 1
4 5
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Expenditure (continued)
Expenses for key management personnel:
Name Travel Accommodation Subsistence Total
Duncan Rudkin 1,554 401 40 1,995
Hugh Simpson 815 515 27 1,357
Claire Bryce-Smith 857 293 25 1,175
Vivienne Murch did not claim any expenses during the year.
Remuneration of highest-paid director as a multiple of median
remuneration
2017 2016
Mid-point of band of highest-paid director’s total remuneration 165,000 165,000
Median total remuneration 38,800 36,800
Remuneration ratio 1:4 1:4
Council members’ pay and expenses 2017 2016
£000 £000
Total pay, council members 208 208
Total expenses paid to council members 26 22
234 230
4 Interest receivable and similar income
2017 2016
£000 £000
Interest receivable 194 234
194 234
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5 Surplus / (Deficit) on ordinary activities before taxation
This is stated after charging:
2017
£000
2016
£000
Operating lease rentals: motor vehicles 151 168
Operating lease rentals: photocopiers 18 28
Operating lease rentals: buildings 1,202 1,202
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets 1,588 1,058
Auditors’ remuneration: for audit services 32 32
6 Taxation 2017
£000
2016
£000
UK corporation tax at 20% (2016: 20%) in the year 33 46
Under/(Over) provision in respect of prior year - -
33 46
Corporation tax is only payable on interest receivable and data subscription income, net of
attributable costs, in the year.
7 Fixed assets Leasehold Office equipment Total
£000 £000 £000
Cost
As at 1 April 2016 5,581 2,044 7,625
Additions 26 53 79
As at 31 March 2017 5,607 2,097 7,704
Depreciation
As at 1 April 2016 914 929 1,843
Charge for the year
585
1,003
1,588
As at 31 March 2017 1,499 1,932 3,431
Net book value
As at 31 March 2017 4,108 165 4,273
As at 31 March 2016 4,667 1,115 5,782
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8 Debtors
2017
£000
2016
£000
Trade debtors 48 104
Registrant direct debits to be collected 239 226
Other debtors 100 112
Prepayments and accrued income 1,200 1,239
Debtors (due in more than one year)
Trade debtors 59 30
1,646 1,711
9 Bank and cash
2017
£000
2016
£000
Current accounts 275 283
Deposit accounts 26,688 25,368
26,963 25,651
Money is moved from deposit accounts into the current account as and when needed. This ensures a
maximum return is earned from money on deposit.
10 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2017
£000
2016
£000
Trade creditors 845 1,061
Corporation tax 39 49
Other taxes and HMRC 279 252
Other creditors 13 15
Accruals 738 537
Deferred income 13,858 14,109
15,772 16,023
Deferred income is made up of the following:
Deferred income from registrants and premises 13,737 13,364
Other deferred income 11 10
Deferred capital grant
110
735
13,858 14,109
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11 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
2017
£000
2016
£000
Balance at 1 April 3,591 3,870
Reserve built up during the year
Capital contribution 141 147
Rent increase accrual 29 29
Reserve released during the year (451) (455)
Balance at 31 March 3,310 3,591
Split of rent reserve:
Reserve reversing in one year 465 442
Current obligations 465 442
Reserve reversing within two to five years 1,858 1,768
Reserve reversing more than five years 987 1,381
Non-current obligations 2,845 3,149
Total 3,310 3,591
12 Provisions for liabilities
Leave pay
£000
At 1 April 2016
171
Released (171)
Additions 175
At 31 March 2017 175
Under FRS 102, the GPhC is required to accrue for all short-term compensated absences as holiday
entitlement earned but not taken at the date of the statement of financial position.
The impact of the leave pay accrual in the income statement is £4k at 31 March 2017 (£12k at 31
March 2016). The impact in reserves is £175k at 31 March 2017 (£171k at 31 March 2016).
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13 Commitments
As at 31 March 2017 the GPhC’s future minimum operating lease payments are as follows:
2017
£000
2016
£000
Within one year
motor vehicles 127 135
property 791 791
equipment 18 18
936 944
Between one year and five years
motor vehicles 93 153
property 3,162 3,162
equipment 3 21
3,258 3,336
Later than five years
property 1,679 2,470
1,679 3,260
14 Related parties
There are no transactions with related parties other than the transactions with council members
shown in note 3 (council members’ pay and expenses).
15 Financial risk management
The GPhC has a formal risk management framework for which the council is accountable. GPhC has
exposure to liquidity risk. The objective of the GPhC in managing liquidity risk is to ensure that it can
meet its financial obligations as and when they fall due. The GPhC expects to meet its financial
obligations through operating cash flows. Given the availability of cash as stated in note 9, the GPhC
is in position to meet its commitments and obligations as they come due. Funds are placed with
investment grade institutions.
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Appendix 1: General Pharmaceutical Council
Accounts Determination given by the Privy Council
under the Pharmacy Order 2010 Their Lordships make the following determination in exercise of powers conferred by Schedule 1 (7) of the
Pharmacy Order 2010.
This determination has effect from 13 March 2010.
Interpretation
1. In this determination –
“the accounts” means the statement of accounts which it is the Council’s duty to prepare under section 2
Schedule 1 (7) of the Pharmacy Order 2010
“the Council” means the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Determination
2. The Council must prepare the accounts for each calendar year in compliance with the accounting principles
and disclosure requirements prescribed in the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP).
3. The first accounts will be prepared for the financial year 2010-2011, and will incorporate any residual
accounts declaration from the financial year 2009-2010.
4. The accounts must be prepared so as to:
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs as at the end of the calendar year and of the income
and expenditure, total recognised gains and losses (or, as appropriate, recognised gains and losses),
and cash flows of the Council for the calendar year then ended; and
5. Compliance with the requirements of the GAAP will, in all but exceptional circumstances, be necessary for
the accounts to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs for the financial year in question.
6. If there are such exceptional circumstances and compliance with the requirements of the GAAP would give
rise to the preparation of accounts which were inconsistent with the requirement for those accounts to give
a true and fair view of the state of affairs at the end of that year, the requirements of the GAAP should be
departed from only to the extent necessary to give a true and fair view of that state of affairs.
7. In cases referred to in paragraph 5, informed and unbiased judgement should be used to devise an
appropriate alternative treatment which is consistent with both the economic characteristics of the
circumstances concerned.
8. Any material departure from the GAAP should be discussed, in the first instance, with the Privy Council
Office in any event.
9. This determination is to be reproduced as an appendix to the published accounts.
Signed by the authority of the Privy Council