The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7464 p161
11 August 2007

Society summary

Retention fees 2008

Society seeks members' views in consultation on fees increase

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has begun a 60-day consultation on the proposals made at the July 2007 meeting of the Council to increase the fees payable to the Society for 2008 (PJ, 4 August, p129).

Under the Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Order 2007, the way in which the Society sets its fees has changed. Under previous legislation, changes to the fees were proposed by the Council and gazetted in The Pharmaceutical Journal. Permission was then sought from the Privy Council to make changes to fees by an amendment to the Society’s Byelaws. The ability of registrants to influence the decisions about fees was limited, the Society says.

Under the new Order, the Council now has a duty to consult those registered with the Society in respect of the registration and retention fees it charges.

Andrew Gush, the Society’s Treasurer, said: “The Council has been faced with some tough financial decisions and I hope that this consultation will help the membership to understand why fee changes are necessary at this crucial time for the Society.

“This process will bring greater transparency, accountability and understanding to the fee-setting process. At the end of the consultation period, all responses received will be analysed by an independent external body, and the findings presented to the Council at its October 2007 meeting. The Council will publish a report on the findings and any final decisions it takes about the fees, which will be made available on the Society’s website and in The Pharmaceutical Journal.”

Participants in the consultation are invited to answer and comment on 10 questions (see Panel).

In a foreword to the consultation documents, the President, Hemant Patel, describes the external factors that have driven in the increases in fees as:

• The increased costs of regulation arising from the Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Order 2007

• The deficit in the Society’s final salary pension fund

• Recent changes to tax regulations

• The costs of the Government’s plan to split the Society into a new regulatory body and professional body

The consultation documents describe the nine principles that the Council took into consideration when setting fees. They were:

• Maintaining resources to a level appropriate for sound business operation

• Maintaining financial independence

• Using publishing income to build reserves

• Encouraging professional innovators

• Applying the fee structure to all registrants proportionately

• Recovering administrative costs

• Maintaining a three-year rolling budget

• Ensuring fees are simple to understand and transparent

• Minimising the costs of fees collection and administration for payers and the Society

Further information about these principles is given in the documents.

The consultation documents are available on the Society’s website and also in hard copy on application to the Secretary and Registrar’s Office, 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN (tel 020 7572 2201/2202). Responses to the consultation (which can be completed and sent via the website) are invited by Wednesday 3 October 2007.