Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Medical Act 1983

Type Public General Act

Publication 1983-07-26

Last updated 2025-01-01

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

articles Not indexed

Reform history JSON API

Part I — Preliminary

The General Medical Council

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(1) There shall continue to be a body corporate known as the General Medical Council (in this Act referred to as “the General Council”) having the functions assigned to them by this Act.

(1A) The over-arching objective of the General Council in exercising their functions is the protection of the public.

(1B) The pursuit by the General Council of their over-arching objective involves the pursuit of the following objectives—

(a) to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and well-being of the public,

(b) to promote and maintain public confidence in the medical profession, and

(2) The General Council shall be constituted as provided for by order of the Privy Council, subject to Part 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act.

(3) The General Council shall have the following committees—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d) one or more Registration Appeals Panels,

(e) the Investigation Committee,

(f) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(g) the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (“the MPTS”),

(h) one or more Medical Practitioners Tribunals,

(i) one or more Interim Orders Tribunals,

constituted in accordance with Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act and having the functions assigned to them by or under this Act.

(3A) The committees of the General Council specified in ...subsection (3) above are referred to in this Act as “the statutory committees”.

(4) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the General Council, its branch councils and committees, its proceedings, its officers and its accounts.

Registration of medical practitioners

2

(1) There shall continue to be kept by the registrar of the General Council (in this Act referred to as “the Registrar”) a register of medical practitioners registered under this Act containing the names of those registered and the qualifications they are entitled to have registered under this Act.

(2) The register referred to is “the register of medical practitioners” consisting of the following lists—

(a) the principal list,

(aa) if anyone is registered under section 18A, the emergency powers doctors list, and

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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(3) Medical practitioners shall be registered as fully registered medical practitioners or provisionally ... as provided in Parts II and III of this Act and in the appropriate list of the register of medical practitioners ... as provided in Part IV of this Act.

(4) Section 35C(2)(da) (the necessary knowledge of English) shall not apply in determining whether a person’s fitness to practise is impaired for the purposes of registration under this Act.

Part II — Medical Education and Registration: Persons Qualifying in the United Kingdom and Elsewhere in the EEC.

Registration by virtue of primary United Kingdom or primary European qualifications

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(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act any person whose fitness to practise is not impaired and who—

(a) holds one or more primary United Kingdom qualifications and has satisfactorily completed an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors; or

(b) being a national of any relevant European State, holds one or more primary European qualifications and has made an application, before IP completion day, for registration under this paragraph or is provisionally registered under section 15A,

is entitled to be registered under this section as a fully registered medical practitioner.

(2) Any person who—

(a) is not a national of a relevant European State; but

(b) is, by virtue of an enforceable EU right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of access to and pursuit of the medical profession, no less favourably than a national of a relevant European State,

shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above as if he were such a national.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Qualifying examinations and primary United Kingdom qualifications

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(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a qualifying examination for the purposes of this Part of this Act is an examination held for the purpose of granting one or more primary United Kingdom qualifications by any one of the bodies or combinations of bodies in the United Kingdom which are included in a list maintained by the General Council of the bodies and combinations of bodies entitled to hold such examinations.

(1A) The General Council may from time to time amend the list.

(1B) The list maintained under subsection (1) shall be published in such manner as the General Council see fit.

(1C) The General Council shall only include in the list maintained under subsection (1) bodies or combinations of bodies that require from candidates at examinations a standard of proficiency that conforms to the prescribed standard of proficiency.

(1D) If the General Council have formed the provisional opinion that a body or combination of bodies included in the list maintained under subsection (1) should be removed from the list, they shall notify that opinion in writing to the body or combination of bodies concerned and shall allow them a reasonable opportunity to respond before determining whether or not to remove the body or combination of bodies from the list.

(3) In this Act “primary United Kingdom qualification” means any of the following qualifications, namely—

(a) the degree of bachelor of medicine or bachelor of surgery granted by a body or combination of bodies included in the list maintained under subsection (1);

(b) licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London or the Royal College of Surgeons of England or the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh or the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh or the Royal College (formerly Royal Faculty) of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow;

(c) membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of England granted before the coming into force of section 1 of the Medical Qualifications (Amendment) Act 1991;

(d) licentiate in medicine and surgery of the Society of Apothecaries of London.

(4) Any two or more of the bodies and combinations of bodies included in the list maintained under subsection (1) may, with the approval and under the directions of the General Council, unite or co-operate in conducting examinations held for the purpose of granting primary United Kingdom qualifications.

(4A) If a body or combination of bodies is removed from the list maintained under subsection (1), primary United Kingdom qualifications granted by that body or combination of bodies during the period in respect of which it was on the list are still to be considered primary United Kingdom qualifications after that removal.

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

General functions of the Education Committee in relation to medical education in the United Kingdom

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(1) The General Council shall have the general function of promoting high standards of medical education and co-ordinating all stages of medical education.

(2) For the purpose of discharging that function the General Council shall—

(a) determine the extent of the knowledge and skill which is to be required for the granting of primary United Kingdom qualifications and secure that the instruction given in or under the direction of bodies or combinations of bodies in the United Kingdom to persons studying for such qualifications is sufficient to equip them with knowledge and skill of that extent;

(b) determine the standard of proficiency which is to be required from candidates at qualifying examinations and secure the maintenance of that standard; and

(2A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) Determinations of the General Council under subsection (2)(a) or (b) above shall be published in such manner as they see fit.

(3A) Such determinations—

(a) are binding on bodies or combinations of bodies concerned with medical education as regards the matters to which they relate; and

(b) accordingly, those bodies or combinations of bodies must act in accordance with them as regards the matters to which they relate.

(4) In this Act—

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“the prescribed knowledge and skill” means knowledge and skill of the extent for the time being determined under subsection (2)(a) above and set out in determinations published under subsection (3) above;

“the prescribed standard of proficiency” means the standard of proficiency for the time being determined under subsection (2)(b) above and set out in determinations published under subsection (3) above;

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Further powers of the Education Committee

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(1) A body or combination of bodies in the United Kingdom granting any primary United Kingdom qualification or any additional qualification for the time being registrable under section 16 below shall from time to time, when so required by the General Council, furnish the General Council with such information as the General Council may require as to—

(a) the courses of study and examinations to be gone through in order to obtain the qualification;

(b) the ages at which such courses of study and examinations are required to be gone through;

(d) generally the requisites for obtaining the qualification.

(2) For the purpose of securing the maintenance of the prescribed standard of proficiency the General Council may appoint such number of inspectors as they may determine, and the inspectors shall attend, as the General Council may direct, all or any of the qualifying examinations held by any body or combination of bodies included in the list maintained under section 4(1).

(3) Any person deputed for the purpose by the General Council may attend and be present at any examination held in the United Kingdom which has to be gone through in order to obtain a primary United Kingdom qualification or any additional qualification for the time being registrable under section 16 below.

(4) Inspectors appointed under subsection (2) above shall not interfere with the conduct of any examination, but it shall be their duty to report to the General Council their opinion as to the sufficiency of every examination which they attend, and any other matters relating to such examinations which the General Council may require them to report.

(5) The General Council shall forward a copy of every report of the inspectors to the body or each of the bodies who held the examination to which the report relates....

Power to appoint visitors of medical schools

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(1) The General Council may appoint persons to visit... places where instruction is given to medical students under the direction of any body or combination of bodies included in the list maintained under section 4(1).

(2) It shall be the duty of visitors appointed under subsection (1) above to report to the General Council as to the sufficiency of the instruction given in the places which they visit and as to any other matters relating to the instruction which may be specified by the General Council either generally or in any particular case; but no visitor shall interfere with the giving of any instruction.

(3) On the receipt of any report of a visitor under subsection (2) above the General Council shall send a copy of the report to the body or combination of bodies under whose direction the instruction is given, and on the receipt of the copy that body or combination of bodies may, within such period of not less than one month as the General Council may have specified at the time they sent the copy of the report, make to the General Council observations on the report or objections to it.

(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Power to add further qualifying examinations

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Powers of Privy Council where standards not maintained

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Experience required for full registration by virtue of primary United Kingdom qualifications

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Provisions supplementary to s. 10, etc.

11

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Special provisions as to employment in health centres

12

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Power to appoint visitors of approved hospitals

13

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Alternative requirements as to experience in certain cases

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(1) On an application made to them by a person to whom this section applies, the General Council may direct that, as an alternative to the satisfactory completion of an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors, it shall be sufficient for the applicant to satisfy the General Council that, in the course of or as an adjunct to practice in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, he has undergone medical training and acquired clinical experience, over a period acceptable to the General Council, which has provided him with a foundation for future practice as a fully registered medical practitioner which is at least as good as the foundation provided by an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors.

(2) This section applies to any person who claims registration under section 3 above and—

(a) claims such registration by virtue of a qualification granted before 1st January 1953; or

(b) is the holder of a primary United Kingdom qualification and also of a qualification granted outside the United Kingdom which is recognised by the General Council for the purposes of this section as furnishing a sufficient guarantee of the possession of knowledge and skill corresponding with the prescribed knowledge and skill.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) Subsection (5) applies if—

(a) a person within subsection (2)(b) who is a national of a relevant European State makes an application under subsection (1) in connection with an application for registration under section 3(1)(a) made before IP completion day; and

(b) the person has carried out a professional traineeship, all or part of which was carried out in a third country.

(5) The General Council must take the professional traineeship into account in exercising its functions under subsection (1).

(6) The General Council must publish guidelines on the organisation and recognition of professional traineeships carried out in third countries (including, in particular, guidelines on the role of the supervisor of the professional traineeship).

(7) Any person who—

(a) is not a national of a relevant European State; but

(b) is, by virtue of any enforceable EU right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of access to and the practice of the medical profession, no less favourably than a national of such a State,

must be treated for the purposes of subsections (4) and (5) as if the person were such a national.

Provisional registration

15

(1) This section shall have effect for enabling persons wishing to complete an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors to participate in such a programme.

(2) A person shall be entitled to be registered provisionally under this section if—

(a) he has not satisfactorily completed an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors; but

(b) apart from that he would be entitled to be registered under section 3 above.

(3) A person provisionally registered under this section shall be deemed to be registered under section 3 above as a fully registered medical practitioner so far as is necessary to enable him to participate in an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors but not further.

Registration of qualifications

16

(1) A person registered under section 3, 14A, 15 or 15A above or 18A below shall be entitled to have registered any primary United Kingdom qualification or qualifications or primary European qualification or qualifications which he holds when he is so registered and also—

(a) any other primary United Kingdom qualification or qualification specified in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive (evidence of formal qualifications in basic medical training) which he obtains after registration;

(b) subject to subsection (3) below, any additional qualification which the General Council determine ought to be registrable by virtue of this paragraph which he holds when he is registered or obtains thereafter;

(c) any . . . qualification which is for the time being registrable by virtue of section 26(1)(b) below which he holds when he is registered or obtains thereafter.

(2) In this Act “additional qualification” means any qualification granted in a relevant European State other than ... a qualification specified in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive (evidence of formal qualifications in basic medical training).

(3) If the General Council determine that any such qualification as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above ought not to be registrable by virtue of that paragraph if granted before or after a particular date, a person holding that qualification shall not be entitled to have it registered if it was granted to him before or, as the case may be, after that date.

Primary qualifications obtained in other member States of the Communities

17

(1) A primary European qualification for the purposes of this Part of this Act is any of the following obtained in a relevant European State ..., namely—

(a) a qualification listed in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive which was obtained in a relevant European State on or after the reference date and is not evidence of training commenced by the holder before that date, provided that that qualification is accompanied, where appropriate, by the certificate listed in relation to that State in the column of Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive entitled “Certificate accompanying the qualifications”;

(b) subject to compliance with subsection (2) below, a qualification listed in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive, which was obtained before the reference date, or on or after that date where training of which it is evidence was commenced by the holder before that date;

(ba) subject to compliance with subsection (2A) below, a qualification not listed in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive, which was obtained on or after the reference date and is not evidence of training commenced by the holder before that date;

(c) subject to compliance with subsection (3) below, a qualification not listed in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive, which was obtained before the reference date, or on or after that date where training of which it is evidence was commenced by the holder before that date;

(d) subject to compliance with subsection (4) below, a qualification which is evidence of training commenced before 3rd October 1990 and undertaken on the territory of the former German Democratic Republic.

(e) subject to compliance with subsection (4A) below, a qualification which—

(i) is evidence of training commenced before the date specified in column (a) of the table in that subsection and undertaken on the territory specified in the corresponding entry in column (b) of that table, or

(ii) was awarded by the former state specified in column (b) of the table in that subsection before the date specified in the corresponding entry in column (a).

(2) For compliance with this subsection in the case of any qualification, either—

(a) evidence of the qualification must be—

(i) such that the Registrar is satisfied (by means of a certificate of a competent authority of the relevant European State in which it was obtained or otherwise) that it accords with the standards laid down by article 24 of the Directive (basic medical training), and

(ii) accompanied, where appropriate, by the certificate listed in relation to the State in which the qualification was obtained in the column of Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive entitled “Certificate accompanying the qualifications”; or

(b) evidence of the qualification must be accompanied by a certificate of a competent authority of any relevant European State that the holder has effectively and lawfully been engaged in medical practice in that State for at least three consecutive years during the five years preceding the date of the certificate.

(2A) For compliance with this subsection in the case of any qualification, evidence of it must be accompanied by a certificate of a competent authority of the relevant European State in which it was obtained to the effect that—

(a) it is evidence of training which satisfies the requirements of article 24 of the Directive; and

(b) it is treated by that State as if it were a qualification listed in relation to that State in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive.

(3) For compliance with this subsection in the case of any qualification, evidence of it must be accompanied by a certificate such as is described in—

(a) subsection (2)(b); or

(b) subsection (2A).

(4) For compliance with this subsection in the case of any qualification—

(a) it must be such that the Registrar is satisfied with respect to it (by means of a certificate of a competent authority of Germany or otherwise) that the holder is entitled by virtue of it to engage in medical practice throughout the territory of Germany on the same conditions as the holder of a German qualification listed in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive; and

(b) evidence of it must be accompanied by a certificate of a competent authority of Germany that the holder has effectively and lawfully been engaged in actual medical practice in Germany for at least 3 consecutive years during the 5 years preceding the date of the certificate.

(4A) For compliance with this subsection in the case of any qualification—

(a) it must be such that the Registrar is satisfied with respect to it (by means of a certificate from a competent authority of the relevant European State specified in the appropriate row of column (c) of the table below) that that qualification has, on its territory, the same legal validity as regards access to and practice of the medical profession as the qualification listed in relation to that State in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive; and

(b) evidence of it must be accompanied by a certificate from a competent authority of that State stating that the holder has effectively and lawfully been engaged in the activity in question on the territory of that State for at least 3 consecutive years during the 5 years preceding the date of issue of that certificate.

Column (a)	Column (b)	Column (c)
1st January 1993	Former Czechoslovakia	Czech Republic
1st January 1993	Former Czechoslovakia	Slovakia
20th August 1991	Former Soviet Union	Estonia
21st August 1991	Former Soviet Union	Latvia
11th March 1990	Former Soviet Union	Lithuania
25th June 1991	Former Yugoslavia	Slovenia
8th October 1991	Former Yugoslavia	Croatia

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) In this section, “the reference date”, in relation to a relevant European State, means the date specified in relation to that State in the column entitled “Reference date” in Annex V, point 5.1.1 of the Directive.

Visiting EEC practitioners

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Part III — Registration of Persons Qualifying Overseas

Full registration of persons by virtue of recognised overseas qualifications

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(A1) Subsection (1) applies only in relation to an exempt person—

(a) who has made an application, before IP completion day, for registration under this section, or

(b) who is provisionally registered under section 21.

(1) Where an exempt person satisfies the Registrar—

(a) that he holds, or has passed all the qualifying examinations necessary for obtaining, an acceptable overseas qualification other than a primary European qualification;

(aa) that, where—

(i) that qualification was, or would have been, granted otherwise than in a relevant European State, and

(ii) that qualification, or the person's having passed those examinations, has not previously been accepted by a relevant European State as qualifying the person to practise as a medical practitioner in that State,

the qualification is, or would have been, evidence of medical training which satisfies the requirements of article 24(1), (2) and (3)(a), (b) and (c) of the Directive (basic medical training);

(b) that, in the course of or as an adjunct to practice in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, he has undergone medical training and acquired clinical experience, over a period acceptable to the General Council, which has provided him with a foundation for future practice as a fully registered medical practitioner which is at least as good as the foundation provided by an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors; and

that person shall, if the General Council think fit so to direct, be registered under this section as a fully registered medical practitioner.

(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to persons entitled to be registered under section 14A or 19A.

(2) In this Act “exempt person” means—

(a) a person who, immediately before IP completion day, was a national of a relevant European State,

(b) a person who, immediately before IP completion day, was a national of the United Kingdom and, at that time, was seeking access to, or pursuing, the medical profession by virtue of an enforceable EU right, or

(c) a person who, immediately before IP completion day, was not a national of a relevant European State, but at that time was, by virtue of an enforceable EU right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of access to and pursuit of the medical profession, no less favourably than a national of a relevant European State.

(3) In determining an application by any person for registration under this section, the General Council shall take into account—

(a) if the applicant holds a medical qualification which was granted otherwise than in a relevant European State, but has been accepted by a relevant European State ... as qualifying him to practise as a medical practitioner in that State, the acceptance of that qualification; and

(b) all medical qualifications, knowledge or experience, wherever acquired, which are relevant to the determination of his application.

(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Experience required for full registration by virtue of recognised overseas qualifications

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Provisional registration

21

(1) The following provisions shall have effect for enabling persons wishing to satisfy the Registrar of the matters specified in section 19(1)(b) above to participate in an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors.

(2) Where a person—

(a) has made an application to the General Council, before IP completion day, to be provisionally registered under this section, and

(b) satisfies the Registrar of the matters specified in paragraphs (a), (aa) and (c) of section 19(1),

the person shall, if the Council think fit so to direct, be provisionally registered under this section.

(2A) Subsection (3) of section 19 above applies in relation to an application for registration under this section as it applies in relation to an application for registration under that section.

(3) A person provisionally registered under this section shall be deemed to be registered under section 19 above as a fully registered medical practitioner so far as is necessary to enable him to participate in an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors but not further.

Limited registration of persons by virtue of overseas qualifications

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Limited registration: supplementary provisions

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Limited registration: erasure

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Full registration of persons with limited registration

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Registration of qualifications

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(1) A person registered under section 19, 19A, 21, 21B or 21C above shall be entitled to have registered the acceptable overseas qualification which he holds when he is so registered and also—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) subject to subsection (3) below, any overseas qualification which the General Council determine ought to be registrable by virtue of this paragraph which he holds when he is registered or obtains thereafter;

(c) subject to subsection (3) below, any additional qualification which the General Council determine ought to be registrable by virtue of this paragraph which he holds when he is registered or obtains thereafter; and

(d) any primary United Kingdom qualification or primary European qualification which he holds when he is registered or obtains thereafter.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) If the General Council determine that any such qualification as is mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) above ought not to be registrable by virtue of that paragraph if granted before or after a particular date, a person holding that qualification shall not be entitled to have it registered if it was granted to him before or, as the case may be, after that date.

Temporary full registration for visiting overseas specialists

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The Review Board for Overseas Qualified Practitioners

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Functions of the Review Board

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Part IV — General Provisions Concerning Registration

The registers

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(A1) In this Part, “the registers” means—

(a) the register;

(b) the General Practitioner Register; and

(1) The register of medical practitioners shall include—

(a) in the principal list the names of persons entitled to be registered under section 3, 14A, 15, 15A or 19A above, or directed to be registered under section 19, 21, 21B or 21C above;

(aa) in the emergency powers doctors list, the names of persons from time to time registered under section 18A; and

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) in the visiting overseas doctors list the names of persons from time to time directed to be registered under section 27A or 27B above; ...

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) The register shall also include, in respect of each of the persons entered in it, a statement of the following—

(a) the person’s address;

(b) the person’s date of registration;

(d) any qualifications which the person is entitled to have registered under section 16 or 26 above; and

(e) any other particulars prescribed in the case of a person entered in the register.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Registrar to keep the register, the General Practitioner Register and the Specialist Register correct in accordance with the provisions of this Act and regulations made by the General Council, to erase the names of persons who have died, or who have been provisionally registered for longer than the period prescribed in respect of them, and from time to time to make the necessary alterations in the addresses, qualifications and other registered particulars of registered persons.

(5) The Registrar may, by letter addressed to any person registered in the register at his address on the register, inquire whether he has changed his address and, if no answer is received to the inquiry within six months from the posting of the letter, may erase from the register the entry relating to that person.

(6) On registering the death of a person registered in the register, a registrar of births and deaths shall, without charge to the Registrar, send forthwith by post to the Registrar a copy certified under his hand of the entry in the register of deaths relating to the death.

(7) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under section 31 below.

Power to make regulations with respect to the registers

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(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the General Council may make regulations with respect to the form and keeping of ... the registers and the making of entries, alterations and corrections ... in them.

(2) Regulations under this section may provide for ... the registers to be kept either by making entries in bound books or by recording the matters in question in any other manner; and if ... the registers are not kept by making entries in bound books, adequate precautions shall be taken for guarding against, and facilitating the discovery of, falsification.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) Regulations under this section shall provide for the marking of the register of medical practitioners so as to distinguish those provisionally registered under section 15 or 15A above and those provisionally registered under section 21 or 21C above.

(4A) Regulations under this section may provide for a maximum period for which a person may be provisionally registered, and may provide for—

(a) different maximum periods for which different classes of persons may be provisionally registered; and

(b) the maximum period not to apply to specified classes of persons.

(4B) Regulations under this section shall provide for the marking of the General Practitioner Register so as to distinguish between different categories of persons who are eligible to be registered in that register by virtue of section 34C(2)(b).

(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(8) Regulations under this section may make provision with respect to the restoration to ... the registers of the name of any person whose name has been erased from ... them by virtue of section 30(5) above or of any regulations made in pursuance of ... section 32(2) below.

(9) Regulations under this section made by virtue of subsection (8) above may include provision—

(a) for authorising the Registrar, notwithstanding anything in this Act, to refuse to restore to ... the registers ... the name of any such person as is mentioned in that subsection unless he furnishes to the Registrar such evidence of his identity and fitness to practise as may be prescribed; and

(b) for securing that, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, such a person’s name is not so restored unless—

(i) the General Council or a committee of the General Council so direct after making such investigation into his fitness to practise as they think fit,

(ii) the practitioner’s licence to practise is restored in accordance with the regulations, or

(iii) both (i) and (ii) are met; and

(c) where such a person is required to submit to or undertake an assessment by virtue of paragraph 5A or 5C of Schedule 4, for requiring the Registrar or the General Council or a committee of the Council to take into account—

(i) whether the assessment was carried out,

(ii) whether any requirements imposed in respect of the assessment were complied with, and

(iii) if the assessment was carried out, the results of the assessment.

...

(10) Regulations made in pursuance of subsection (4A), (4B), (8) or (9) above shall not have effect until approved by order of the Privy Council.

(11) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this section.

Registration fees

32

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the General Council may make regulations with respect to the charging of fees in connection with the making of entries in the register of medical practitioners, and in particular—

(a) prescribing a fee to be charged on the entry of a name or qualification in the register or on the restoration of any entry to the register;

(b) prescribing a fee to be charged in respect of the retention in the register of the name of a person ... ;

(c) authorising the Registrar, notwithstanding anything in this Act, to refuse to make any entry in, or restore any entry to, the register ... until a fee prescribed by regulations under this section has been paid.

(1A) Any fee prescribed by the General Council under subsection (1) in connection with the making of an entry in the register relating to a specified state professional must be—

(a) reasonable and proportionate to the cost of dealing with such a person’s application;

(b) transparent and made public in advance; and

(2) Regulations under this section may authorise the Registrar to erase from the register of medical practitioners the name of—

(a) any person who, after such notices and warnings as may be prescribed by the regulations, fails to pay a fee prescribed in pursuance of subsection (1)(b) above; ...

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) If a person whose name has been erased from the register in accordance with regulations made in pursuance of subsection (2) above at any time pays—

(a) such sum (if any) as may be prescribed for the purposes of this subsection by regulations under this section; and

(b) the fee (if any) which, if his name had not been so erased, would be due from him in respect of the current year,

his name shall be restored to the register.

(4) Regulations under this section shall not provide for any fee to be chargeable in respect of anything done in pursuance of a direction under section 41 below.

(5) No fee shall be charged in relation to registration in the emergency powers doctors list ... and accordingly this section shall not apply in relation thereto.

(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) Regulations under this section prescribing fees may provide for the charging of different fees in different cases and may provide that fees shall not be chargeable in cases prescribed by the regulations.

(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that in this section “entry” includes an entry by way of alteration of a previous entry.

Supplementary provisions about registration

33

Schedule 3 to this Act (which contains supplementary provisions about registration) shall have effect.

The Medical Register and the Overseas Medical Register

34

(1) The Registrar shall cause to be published from time to time (electronically or otherwise) a list of all persons who, on a date specified by him at the time of publication, appear in each of the registers.

(2) The list published in accordance with subsection (1) above shall include in respect of each practitioner—

(a) information about his registered qualifications;

(b) a statement about whether or not he holds a licence to practise; ...

(ba) in relation to the list of persons on the Specialist Register—

(i) the specialty in respect of which a person's name is included in that register; and

(ii) the name, or a description of, any field within that specialty which is indicated in respect of that person in that register; and

Part V — Fitness to Practise and Medical Ethics

General Council's power to advise on conduct or ethics

35

The powers of the General Council shall include the power to provide, in such manner as the Council think fit, advice for members of the medical profession on—

(a) standards of professional conduct;

(b) standards of professional performance; or

Professional misconduct and criminal offences

36

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Unfitness to practise through illness, etc.

37

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Power to order immediate suspension after finding of professional misconduct or unfitness to practise

38

(1) On giving a direction for erasure or a direction for suspension under section 35D(2), (10) or (12) above, or under paragraph 5A(3D) or 5C(4) of Schedule 4 to this Act, in respect of any person the Medical Practitioners Tribunal, if satisfied that to do so is necessary for the protection of members of the public or is otherwise in the public interest, or is in the best interests of that person, may order that his registration in the register shall be suspended forthwith in accordance with this section.

(2) On giving a direction for conditional registration under section 35D(2) above, or under paragraph 5A(3D) or 5C(4) of Schedule 4 to this Act, in respect of any person the Medical Practitioners Tribunal, if satisfied that to do so is necessary for the protection of members of the public or is otherwise in the public interest, or is in the best interests of that person, may order that his registration be made conditional forthwith in accordance with this section.

(3) Where, on the giving of a direction, an order under subsection (1) or (2) above is made in respect of a person, his registration in the register shall, subject to subsection (4) below, be suspended (that is to say, shall not have effect) or made conditional, as the case may be, from the time when the order is made until the time when—

(a) the direction takes effect in accordance with—

(i) paragraph 10, 10A or 10B of Schedule 4 to this Act; ...

(ii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) an appeal against it under section 40 below or paragraph 5A(5) or 5C(7) of Schedule 4 is (otherwise than by the dismissal of the appeal) determined.

(4) Where a Medical Practitioners Tribunal make an order under subsection (1) or (2) above, the MPTS shall forthwith serve a notification of the order on the person to whom it applies.

(5) If, when an order under subsection (1) or (2) above is made, the person to whom it applies is neither present nor represented at the proceedings, subsection (3) above shall have effect as if, for the reference to the time when the order is made, there were substituted a reference to the time of service of a notification of the order as determined for the purposes of paragraph 8 of Schedule 4 to this Act.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (7) below, while a person’s registration in the register is suspended by virtue of subsection (1) above, he shall be treated as not being registered in the register notwithstanding that his name still appears in it.

(7) Notwithstanding subsection (6) above, sections 35C to 35E above shall continue to apply to a person whose registration in the register is suspended.

(8) The relevant court may terminate any suspension of a person’s registration in the register imposed under subsection (1) above or any conditional registration imposed under subsection (2) above, and the decision of the court on any application under this subsection shall be final.

(9) In this section “the relevant court” has the same meaning as in section 40(5) below.

Fraud or error in relation to registration

39

(1) If the Registrar is satisfied that any entry in—

(a) the register;

(b) the General Practitioner Register; or

has been fraudulently procured or incorrectly made, the Registrar may erase the entry from the appropriate register.

(2) Where the Registrar decides to erase a person’s name under this section, the Registrar shall forthwith serve on that person notification of the decision and of his right to appeal against the decision under Schedule 3A to this Act.

Appeals

40

(1) The following decisions are appealable decisions for the purposes of this section, that is to say—

(a) a decision of a Medical Practitioners Tribunal under section 35D above giving a direction for erasure, for suspension or for conditional registration or varying the conditions imposed by a direction for conditional registration;

(b) a decision of a Medical Practitioners Tribunal under section 41(9) below giving a direction that the right to make further applications under that section shall be suspended indefinitely; ...

(1A) A decision under regulations made—

(a) under section 31 above by virtue of subsection (8) of that section; or

(b) under section 31A(1)(c) above,

not to restore a person’s name to the register for a reason that relates to his fitness to practise is also an appealable decision for the purposes of this section.

(1B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) In subsection (1) above—

(a) references to a direction for suspension include a reference to a direction extending a period of suspension; and

(b) references to a direction for conditional registration include a reference to a direction extending a period of conditional registration.

(4) A person in respect of whom an appealable decision falling within subsection (1) has been taken may, before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notification of the decision was served under section 35E(1) above, or section 41(10) ... below, appeal against the decision to the relevant court.

(4A) A person in respect of whom an appealable decision falling within subsection (1A) ... has been taken may, before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notification of the decision was served, appeal against the decision to the relevant court.

(5) In subsections (4) and (4A) above, “the relevant court”—

(a) in the case of a person whose address in the register is (or if he were registered would be) in Scotland, means the Court of Session;

(b) in the case of a person whose address in the register is (or if he were registered would be) in Northern Ireland, means the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland; and

(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) On an appeal under this section from a Medical Practitioners Tribunal , the court may—

(a) dismiss the appeal;

(b) allow the appeal and quash the direction or variation appealed against;

(c) substitute for the direction or variation appealed against any other direction or variation which could have been given or made by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal; or

(d) remit the case to the MPTS for them to arrange for a Medical Practitioners Tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the directions of the court,

and may make such order as to costs (or, in Scotland, expenses) as it thinks fit.

(7A) Where a case is referred under subsection (7)(d) to the MPTS, the MPTS must arrange for the case to be disposed of by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal in accordance with the directions of the court.

(8) On an appeal under this section from the General Council, the court (or the sheriff) may—

(a) dismiss the appeal;

(b) allow the appeal and quash the direction appealed against ...; or

(c) remit the case to the General Council to dispose of the case in accordance with the directions of the court (or the sheriff),

and may make such order as to costs (or, in Scotland, expenses) as it (or he) thinks fit.

(9) On an appeal under this section from a Medical Practitioners Tribunal, the General Council may appear as respondent; and for the purpose of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of any such appeal the Council shall be deemed to be a party thereto, whether they appear on the hearing of the appeal or not.

On an appeal under this section from the Adjudicator, the General Council may appear as respondent; and for the purpose of any order as to costs (or, in Scotland, expenses) in relation to any such appeal the General Council shall be deemed to be a party thereto, whether they appear on the hearing of the appeal or not.

Restoration of names to the register

41

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (6) below, where the name of a person has been erased from the register under section 35D above, or section 44B(4)(b) below, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal may, if they think fit, direct that his name be restored to the register.

(2) No application for the restoration of a name to the register under this section shall be made...—

(a) before the expiration of five years from the date of erasure; or

(b) in any period of twelve months in which an application for the restoration of his name has already been made by or on behalf of the person whose name has been erased.

(3) An application under this section shall be made to the Registrar who shall refer the application to the MPTS for them to arrange for the application to be determined by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal.

(3A) Where an application is referred under subsection (3) to the MPTS, they must arrange for the application to be determined by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal.

(4) In the case of a person who was provisionally registered under section 15, 15A, 21 or 21C above before his name was erased, a direction under subsection (1) above shall be a direction that his name be restored by way of provisional registration under section 15, 15A, 21 or 21C above, as the case requires.

(5) The requirements of Part II or Part III of this Act as to the experience required for registration as a fully registered medical practitioner shall not apply to registration in pursuance of a direction under subsection (1) above.

(6) Before determining whether to give a direction under subsection (1) above, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal shall require an applicant for restoration to provide such evidence as they direct as to his fitness to practise; and they shall not give such a direction if that evidence does not satisfy them.

(6A) Where the applicant is required to submit to or undertake an assessment by virtue of paragraph 5A or 5C of Schedule 4, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal, before deciding whether to give a direction under subsection (1), shall take into account—

(a) whether the assessment was carried out,

(b) whether any requirements imposed in respect of the assessment were complied with, and

(7) A Medical Practitioners Tribunal shall not give a direction under subsection (1) above unless at the same time in accordance with regulations made by the General Council under this subsection, they direct the Registrar to restore the practitioner’s licence to practise.

(8) Subsections (3) to (5) of section 29J above apply to regulations made under subsection (7) above as they apply in relation to regulations made under section 29A above.

(8A) Where a Medical Practitioners Tribunal give a direction under subsection (1), the MPTS must without delay serve on the Registrar and the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care notification of the direction.

(9) Where, during the same period of erasure, a second or subsequent application for the restoration of a name to the register, made by or on behalf of the person whose name has been erased, is unsuccessful, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal may direct that his right to make any further such applications shall be suspended indefinitely.

(10) Where a Medical Practitioners Tribunal give a direction under subsection (9) above, the MPTS shall without delay serve on the person in respect of whom it has been made a notification of the direction and of his right to appeal against it in accordance with section 40 above.

(11) Any person in respect of whom a direction has been given under subsection (9) above may, after the expiration of three years from the date on which the direction was given, apply to the Registrar for that direction to be referred to the MPTS for them to arrange for the direction to be reviewed by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal and, thereafter, may make further applications for review; but no such application may be made before the expiration of three years from the date of the most recent review decision.

(12) In exercising a function under this section, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal must have regard to the over-arching objective.

Preliminary proceedings as to professional misconduct and unfitness to practise

42

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Proceedings before Professional Conduct, Health and Preliminary Proceedings Committees

43

Schedule 4 to this Act (which contains supplementary provisions about proceedings before the Investigation Committee, Medical Practitioners Tribunals and Interim Orders Tribunals) shall have effect.

Effect of disqualification in another member State on registration in the United Kingdom

44

(1) A person who is subject to a disqualifying decision in a relevant European State in which he is or has been established in medical practice shall not be entitled to be registered by virtue of section 3(1)(b), 14A or 19A above for so long as the decision remains in force in relation to him.

(2) A disqualifying decision in respect of a person is a decision, made by responsible authorities of the relevant European State in which he was established in medical practice or in which he acquired a medical qualification, and—

(a) expressed to be made on the grounds that he has committed a criminal offence or on grounds related to his professional conduct, professional performance or physical or mental health; and

(b) having in that State the effect either that he is no longer registered or otherwise officially recognised as a medical practitioner, or that he is prohibited (whether on a permanent or temporary basis) from practising medicine there.

(3) If a person has been registered by virtue of section 3(1)(b), 14A or 19A above and it is subsequently shown to the satisfaction of the Registrar that he was subject to a disqualifying decision in force at the time of registration, and that the decision remains in force, the Registrar shall remove the person’s name from the register.

(4) A decision under—

(a) subsection (1) above not to register a person; or

(b) subsection (3) above to remove a person’s name from the register,

is an appealable registration decision for the purposes of Schedule 3A to this Act.

(5) If a person has been registered as a fully registered medical practitioner by virtue of section 3(1)(b), 14A or 19A above at a time when a disqualifying decision was in force in respect of him, and he has been so registered for a period of not less than one month throughout which the decision had effect—

(a) a Medical Practitioners Tribunal may direct that his registration be suspended for such period, not exceeding the length of the first-mentioned period, as the Tribunal think fit, and the period of suspension shall begin on a date to be specified in the Tribunal’s direction; and

(b) sections 35E(1) and (3) and 40 and paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 of Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect, with any necessary modifications, in relation to suspension under this subsection.

(5A) In deciding whether to give a direction under subsection (5)(a), a Medical Practitioners Tribunal must have regard to the over-arching objective.

(6) Where on or after the date on which a person was registered by virtue of section 3(1)(b), 14A or 19A above a disqualifying decision relating to him comes into force, this Part of this Act shall apply, with any necessary modifications, as if it had been found that he had been convicted of the criminal offence referred to in the disqualifying decision, or that his professional conduct, professional performance or physical or mental health had been such as is imputed to him by that decision, as the case may be.

(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Disciplinary provisions affecting practitioners who render services while visiting the United Kingdom

45

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part VI — Privileges of Registered Practitioners

Recovery of fees

46

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2A) below, no person shall be entitled to recover any charge in any court of law for any medical advice or attendance, or for the performance of any operation, ... unless he proves that he is fully registered and holds a licence to practise.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2A) Subsection (1) above shall not apply to fees in respect of medical services lawfully provided—

(a) under arrangements to provide services as part of ... any of the UK health services;

(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) by a person who is a member of a profession regulated by a body, apart from the General Council, mentioned in section 25(3) of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002.

(3) Where a practitioner is a fellow of a college of physicians, fellows of which are prohibited by byelaw from recovering by law their expenses, charges or fees, then, notwithstanding that he is fully registered and holds a licence to practise, the prohibitory byelaw, so long as it is in force, may be pleaded in bar of any legal proceedings instituted by him for the recovery of expenses, charges or fees.

Appointments not to be held except by fully registered practitioners

47

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, only a person who is fully registered and who holds a licence to practise may hold an appointment as physician, surgeon or other medical officer—

(a) in the naval, military or air service,

(b) in any hospital or other place for the reception of persons suffering from mental disorder, or in any other hospital, infirmary or dispensary not supported wholly by voluntary contributions,

(d) in any other public establishment, body or institution,

or to any friendly or other society for providing mutual relief in sickness, infirmity or old age.

(2) Nothing in this section shall prevent any person who is not a Commonwealth citizen from being and acting as the resident physician or medical officer of any hospital established exclusively for the relief of foreigners in sickness, so long as he—

(a) has obtained from a foreign university a degree or diploma of doctor in medicine and has passed the regular examinations entitling him to practise medicine in his own country, and

(b) is engaged in no medical practice except as such a resident physician or medical officer.

(3) None of the suspension events mentioned in subsection (4) below shall terminate any appointment such as is mentioned in subsection (1) above, but the person suspended shall not perform the duties of such an appointment during the suspension.

(4) The suspension events are—

(a) the suspension of registration of a person by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal—

(i) following a finding of impairment of fitness to practise by reason of deficient professional performance or adverse physical or mental health under section 35D above, or

(ii) under paragraph 5A(3D) or 5C(4) of Schedule 4 to this Act;

(b) an order for immediate suspension by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal under section 38(1) above; or

(c) an interim suspension order by an Interim Orders Tribunal or a Medical Practitioners Tribunal under section 41A above (or such an order as extended under that section).

Certificates invalid if not signed by fully registered practitioners

48

A certificate required by any enactment, whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act, from any physician, surgeon, licentiate in medicine and surgery or other medical practitioner shall not be valid unless the person signing it is fully registered and holds a licence to practise.

Penalty for pretending to be registered

49

(1) ... any person who wilfully and falsely pretends to be or takes or uses the name or title of physician, doctor of medicine, licentiate in medicine and surgery, bachelor of medicine, surgeon, general practitioner or apothecary, or any name, title, addition or description implying that he is registered under any provision of this Act, or that he is recognised by law as a physician or surgeon or licentiate in medicine and surgery or a practitioner in medicine or an apothecary, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale . . .

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) Any penalty to which a person is liable on summary conviction under subsection (1) above may be recovered in Scotland by any person before the sheriff or the district court who may, on the appearance or the default to appear of the accused, proceed to hear the complaint, and where the offence is proved or admitted the sheriff or court shall order the accused to pay the penalty as well as such expenses as the sheriff or court shall think fit.

(4) Any sum of money arising from conviction and recovery of penalties as mentioned in subsection (3) above shall be paid to the treasurer of the General Council.

Part VII — Miscellaneous and General

Default powers of Privy Council

50

(1) If at any time it appears to the Privy Council that—

(a) the General Council have failed to secure the maintenance of the prescribed standard of proficiency at examinations; or

(b) the General Council ought to exercise any power, perform any duty, or do any act or thing vested in, imposed on or authorised to be done by them, by any provision of this Act except section 7, 10A or 32(1) to (3), (7) or (9) ... or paragraph 7 of Schedule 4 to this Act,

the Privy Council may notify their opinion to the General Council....

(2) If the General Council fail to comply with any directions of the Privy Council relating to a notification given under subsection (1) above, the Privy Council may themselves give effect to those directions, and for that purpose may exercise any power vested in the General Council or do any act or thing authorised to be done by that Council and may of their own motion do any act or thing which under this Act they are authorised to do in pursuance of a representation or suggestion from the General Council.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exercise of powers to make Orders in Council and other orders

51

(1) Any power of the Privy Council to make orders under the provisions of this Act ... shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) below, any statutory instrument containing an Order in Council or order of the Privy Council under any provision of this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(3) Subsection (2) above does not apply to—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) an order of the Privy Council under section... 31(10) above.

Exercise of powers by Privy Council

52

(1) Any power vested in the Privy Council by this Act may be exercised by any two or more of the lords and others of the Council.

(2) Any act of the Privy Council under this Act shall be sufficiently signified by an instrument signed by the clerk of the Council, and an order or act signified by an instrument purporting to be signed by the clerk of the Council shall be deemed to have been duly made or done by the Privy Council, and an instrument so signed shall be received in evidence in all courts and proceedings without proof of the authority or signature of the clerk of the Council or other proof.

Proof of certain instruments

53

(1) A copy of any instrument mentioned in subsection (2) below which—

(a) purports to be printed by the Queen's printers, or by any other printers in pursuance of authority given by the General Council, or

(b) is certified to be a true copy by the Registrar or by any other person appointed by the General Council, either in addition to or in place of the Registrar, to certify any such instrument,

shall be admissible in evidence.

(2) The instruments referred to in subsection (1) above are—

(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) regulations made by the General Council under section 31 or 32 above;

(d) a direction of the General Council under section 39 above.

Saving for certain occupations

54

Nothing in this Act shall prejudice or in any way affect the lawful occupation, trade, or business of chemists and druggists and dentists, or the rights, privileges or employment of duly licensed apothecaries in Northern Ireland, so far as the occupation, trade or business extends to selling, compounding or dispensing medicines.

Interpretation

55

(1) In this Act—

“acceptable overseas qualification” has the meaning given by section 21B(2) above;

“acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors” has the meaning given by section 10A(1) above;

“adaptation period” means—in relation to registration under section 21B in reliance on the holding of a specified state qualification granted in Switzerland, a period of supervised practice, subject to an assessment and, where necessary, accompanied by further training or education or both, under the responsibility of a fully registered medical practitioner;in relation to registration under section 21B in reliance on the holding of a specified state qualification granted otherwise than in Switzerland, a period of supervised practice, subject to an assessment and, where necessary, accompanied by further training, under the responsibility of a fully registered medical practitioner;

“aptitude test” means an assessment, with the aim of determining whether a specified state professional has the knowledge, skills and experience that the General Council consider to be required for practising as a fully registered medical practitioner;

“additional qualification” has the meaning given by section 16(2) above;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“CCT” means a certificate of completion of training awarded under section 34L(1);

“competent authority” means any authority or body of a relevant European State designated by that State for the purposes of the Directive as competent to—receive or issue evidence of qualifications or other information or documents, orreceive applications and take the decisions referred to in the Directive,in connection with the practice of medicine;

“the Directive” means Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7th September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (OJ No L255, 30.09.2005, p 22), and any reference in this Act to the Directive or to any provision of the Directive is a reference to the Directive, or to that provision of the Directive, as it had effect immediately before IP completion day (but see subsections (2) and (3) below);

“Directive 2002/58/EC” means Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications), as amended from time to time;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“disqualifying decision” has the meaning given by section 44(2) above;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“enforceable EU right” means a right recognised and available in domestic law, immediately before IP completion day, by virtue of section 2(1) of the European Communities Act 1972;

“exempt person” has the meaning given in section 19(2) above;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“fully registered person” means a person for the time being registered under section 3, 14A, 18A, 19, 19A, 21B, 27A or 27B above as a fully registered medical practitioner... and—so far as mentioned in subsection (3) of section 15 (including that subsection as applied by section 15A(4), 21 or 21C above, but not further, includes a person for the time being provisionally registered;. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .and “fully registered” shall be construed accordingly;

“the General Council” means the General Medical Council;

“General Practitioner Register” means the register kept by the General Council under section 34C;

“the General Systems Regulations” means the European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/2059) in relation to anything done before IP completion day, as they had effect at that time; otherwise, as (and only to the extent that) they have effect, on or after IP completion day, in relation to an entitlement which arose before IP completion day or arises as a result of something done before IP completion day;

“GP Registrar” means a medical practitioner who is being trained in general practice whether as part of training leading to the award of a CCT or otherwise;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“impaired”, in relation to a person’s fitness to practise, has the meaning given in section 35C(2) above;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“the MPTS” means the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service

“national”, in relation to a relevant European State, has the same meaning as in the EU Treaties, but does not include a person who by virtue of Article 2 of Protocol No. 3 (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) to the Treaty of Accession was not, immediately before IP completion day to benefit from Community provisions relating to the free movement of persons and services;

“the necessary knowledge of English”, in relation to a person, means the knowledge of English which, in the interests of himself and his patients, is necessary for the practice of medicine in the United Kingdom;

“NHS consultant” means a consultant other than a locum consultant (but including an honorary consultant) employed for the purposes of providing any service as part of any of the UK health services;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“the prescribed knowledge and skill” has the meaning given by section 5(4) above;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“the prescribed standard of proficiency” has the meaning given by section 5(4) above;

“primary European qualification” shall be construed in accordance with section 17 above;

“primary United Kingdom qualification” has the meaning given by section 4(3) above;

“professional performance” includes a medical practitioner’s professional competence;

“professional traineeship” means a period of professional practice, carried out under supervision, that—constitutes a condition for access to the medical profession in the country in which it is carried out; andtakes place during or after completion of a course of education leading to an educational qualification pursued for the purpose of entry to that profession;

“provisionally registered” means provisionally registered under section 15 , 15A, 21 or 21C above;

“qualification”, except where the context otherwise requires, means any diploma, degree, fellowship, membership, licence, authority to practise, letters testimonial, certificate or other status or document granted in respect of any branch or branches of medicine by any university, corporation, college or other body or by any department of, or persons acting under the authority of, the government of any country or place;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“recognised specialty” means a specialty which the Privy Council have designated as a recognised specialty by order under section 34D(3);

“the register” means the register of medical practitioners;

“the Registrar” has the meaning given by section 2(1) above but subject to sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 16 of Schedule 1 to this Act;

“relevant European State” means an EEA State or Switzerland;

“revalidation” has the meaning given in section 29A above;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Specialist Register” means the register kept by the General Council under section 34D;

“specified state professional” means a person who holds a specified state qualification;

“specified state qualification” means a medical qualification granted in one of the states specified in Schedule 1 to the Recognition of Professional Qualifications and Implementation of International Recognition Agreements (Amendment) Regulations 2023;

“the statutory committees” has the meaning given in section 1(3A) above;

“third country” means a country other than a relevant European State;

“the UK GDPR” has the same meaning as in Parts 5 to 7 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3(10) and (14) of that Act);

“the UK health services” means— the health service as defined by section 275(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006 or section 206(1) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 ;the health service as defined by section 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 ; andany of the health services under any enactment which extends to Northern Ireland and which corresponds to section 1(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006;

(1ZA) For the purposes of this Act an application for registration is made when it is received by the Registrar.

(1A) References in this Act to the over-arching objective are to the over-arching objective of the General Council under section 1(1A) (read with section 1(1B)).

(2) In relation to anything done before the adoption by the Council of Directive 93/16/EEC, references in this Act to the Directive, or to any provision of the Directive, shall be construed as references to, or to the corresponding provision of, the following Directives as for the time being amended, namely—

(a) Council Directive No.75/362/EEC concerning the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in medicine; and

(b) Council Directive No.75/363/EEC concerning the coordination of provisions in respect of activities of doctors.

(3) In relation to anything done—

(a) before the adoption by the Council and the European Parliament of the Directive, but

(b) after the adoption by the Council of Directive 93/16/EEC,

references in this Act to the Directive, or to any provision of the Directive, shall be construed as references to, or to any corresponding provision of, Directive 93/16/EEC as for the time being amended.

(4) In this section, “Directive 93/16/EEC” means Council Directive 93/16/EEC of 5th April 1993 to facilitate the free movement of doctors and the mutual recognition of their diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications (OJ No. L165, 7.7.93, p.1).

Consequential amendments, repeals and transitional provisions and savings

56

(1) Schedule 5 (consequential amendments) and Schedule 6 (transitional and saving provisions) to this Act shall have effect but without prejudice to the operation of sections 15 to 17 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (which relate to the effect of repeals); and in Schedule 6 “the 1956 Act” and “the 1978 Act” mean the Medical Act 1956 and the Medical Act 1978 respectively.

(2) Subject to subsection (1) above, the enactments specified in Part I of Schedule 7 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Part of that Schedule.

(3) The instruments specified in Part II of Schedule 7 to this Act are hereby revoked to the extent specified in the third column of that Part, but the re-enactment of Articles 4, 7 and 8 of the Medical Qualifications (EEC Recognition) Order 1977 in provisions of this Act shall be without prejudice to the validity of those Articles, and any question as to the validity of them shall be determined as if the re-enacting provision of this Act were contained in a statutory instrument made under the powers under which that Order was made.

Short title, commencement and extent

57

(1) This Act may be cited as the Medical Act 1983.

(2) This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which it is passed.

(3) This Act extends to Northern Ireland.

SCHEDULE 1

Part I — Constitution of the General Medical Council

General

1

(1) The General Council shall consist of—

(a) elected members;

(b) appointed members; and

(2) The numbers of elected members, appointed members and nominated members shall be such that the number of the elected members exceeds the number of the appointed and nominated members.

(3) The General Council shall consist of no more than 35 members.

Elected members

2

(1) Elections of elected members shall be conducted in accordance with an electoral scheme under this paragraph providing for the election of members for the following four constituencies, that is to say—

(a) England, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

(b) Wales;

(d) Northern Ireland.

(1A) The provision that may be made by an electoral scheme includes provision for any of the constituencies listed in sub-paragraph (1)(a) to (d) above to be divided into two or more separate constituencies.

(2) An electoral scheme shall be made, with the approval of the Privy Council, by the General Council after consultation with such bodies as appear to the General Council to be representative of medical practitioners.

(3) An electoral scheme under sub-paragraph (2) above may be amended by the General Council with the approval of the Privy Council and after consultation with such bodies as are mentioned in that sub-paragraph.

(4) The persons qualified to elect the elected members for any constituency shall be those who, on a date determined in accordance with the electoral scheme—

(a) are resident in the constituency for which the election is held;

(b) are fully registered or provisionally registered; and

(5) A person shall not be qualified to be elected as an elected member unless he—

(a) is fully registered or provisionally registered; and

(b) holds a licence to practise.

(5A) An electoral scheme shall make provision for the disclosure to those qualified to vote at an election of information (including information concerning fitness to practise) relating to a person seeking election.

(6) For the purposes of this paragraph, a person shall be taken to be resident at his address in the register.

Appointed members

3

(1) Appointed members shall be chosen by such bodies as are designated for the time being as appointing bodies by an Order in Council under section 1 of this Act.

(2) A person shall not be qualified to be chosen as an appointed member unless he—

(a) is fully registered or provisionally registered; and

(b) holds a licence to practise.

(3) An Order in Council under section 1 of this Act may give an appointing body the power to choose more than one appointed member or to choose an appointed member in combination with another appointing body or bodies.

Nominated members

4

(1) Nominated members shall be nominated by the Privy Council.

(2) One member at least shall be nominated for England, for Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.

(3) A nominated member shall be a person who is neither fully registered nor a holder of any qualification registrable under this Act.

Supplementary

5

An Order in Council under section 1 of this Act may contain such incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provisions as appear to Her Majesty to be necessary or expedient.

6

(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, a person shall not be qualified to be a member of the General Council if he has attained the age of seventy years.

(2) The General Council may by rules provide that sub-paragraph (1) above shall have effect with the substitution of such age less than seventy years as is specified in the rules.

(3) No rules under sub-paragraph (2) above shall come into force until approved by order of the Privy Council.

7

(1) Notwithstanding paragraph 1(2) above, an Order in Council under section 1 of this Act—

(a) may make provision permitting elections to fill casual vacancies among the elected members to be held together, but

(b) may not permit a casual vacancy among the elected members to be left unfilled for a period exceeding six months, except in accordance with paragraph (c) below, and

(c) may make provision that a casual vacancy among the elected members need not be filled if the unexpired term of the elected member giving rise to the vacancy is less than twelve months.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) above the “unexpired term” means the period beginning with the date on which the member ceased to be a member and ending with the date on which his full term of office would have expired.

8

No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty to amend or revoke an Order in Council under section 1 of this Act so far as it relates to the appointing bodies except in pursuance of a representation made to the Privy Council by the General Council.

Part II — Incidental Powers and Duties and Proceedings of the General Medical Council

Incidental powers and duties

9

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