GDC delays decision on ARF increase to end of October

The General Dental Council (GDC) has agreed to delay its final decision on its proposed annual retention fee (ARF) increase following the conclusion of its recent consultation.

Although the regulator said it was "very pleased" with the response the consultation received – with almost 4,500 responses submitted – it will no longer be making its final conclusions at its September 18th meeting, with the decision pushed instead to October 30th.

During the September meeting, the GDC will consider the findings of the consultation, while the organisation has also commissioned KPMG to take another look at the full range of assumptions underlying its controversial proposal to raise the ARF.

The British Dental Association (BDA), which has been a vocal critic of the GDC's stance on the matter thus far, has taken the news as a vindication of the concerns it has raised about the ARF increase and the previous short timescale of its evaluation period.

Mick Armstrong, chair of the BDA's principal executive committee, said: "All we have ever wanted is a fair process and properly reasoned arguments. That, and a reasonable ARF paid to a GDC that is fit for purpose."