The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7494 p325
22 March 2008

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Extra £2.9m secured for transition to GPhC

Extra resources of £2.9m have been secured by the Department of Health for development of the General Pharmaceutical Council, members of the Pharmacy Regulation and Leadership Oversight Group were told at a meeting earlier this month.

This money is for projects on IT and the separation of records and is in addition to the £3m announced by health minister Ben Bradshaw at the British Pharmaceutical Conference last year (PJ, 15 September 2007, p279).

PRLOG members recommended that the GPhC will need to have a physical presence in each of the countries involved in the GPhC — currently England, Scotland and Wales.

The group also heard that the Health and Social Care Bill — the primary legislation that will enable creation of the GPhC — is likely to receive Royal Assent in July. Following that, there will be a three-month consultation with the profession on the redrafted Section 60 Order, the secondary legislation needed to establish the GPhC.

In advance of this formal consultation, the DoH is seeking stakeholder views on key questions that could be highlighted in the consultation. Feedback should be sent to anne.spence@dh.gsi.gov.uk by 31 March 2008.

The next meeting of PRLOG will take place on 12 June 2008. Further information and the relevant documents are available online