No to proposed increase in fees for Nurses and Midwives

We would like the Government to Review the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) with regard to the fees charged to registered nurses and midwives, and the processes through which those fees are decided.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) recently discussed a further increase in registration fees for Nurses and Midwives from £100 to £120.

The fees were increased 2 years ago from 76 to 100 following a consultation that was overwhelmingly against the rise.

The NMC are, of course, obliged to consult before any further rise. However 96%+ of individuals voted against the rise last time.

The Health Committee in their report earlier that year said "We would urge the NMC to avoid further fee rises and to consider fee reductions for new entrants to the register."

Approximately 670,000+ Nurses and Midwives contribute £67+ Million annually to the NMC

Please sign the petition to encourage a review of the NMC and the charging of annual fees to Nurses and Midwives

As this e-petition has received more than 10 000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response:

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator for nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK). It is illegal to work as a nurse or a midwife in the UK without being on the NMC register. To be on the NMC register, nurses and midwives must pay an annual registration fee. However, nurses and midwives are not alone in being required to pay an annual registration fee. All regulated healthcare professionals in the UK are required to do this to maintain registration.

As an independent body, the NMC is responsible for determining the amount of its annual registration fee. This amount needs to cover the cost of its regulatory activity including quality assurance of education, maintenance of the register, development of standards, statutory supervision of midwives and the processing of fitness-to-practise cases.

The Department notes that since the NMC was established under the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 on 1 April 2002, there have been a number of increases in the level of its annual registration fee. In 2004, the NMC annual registration fee was £43, which increased to £76 in August 2007. In February 2013, the NMC received a £20million Government grant that allowed it to protect nurses and midwives from the full impact of a further fee rise. As a result of this financial support, the NMC was able to reduce the amount of the fee increase from £76 to £100, instead of £120 as originally proposed.