23 January 2025
An uplift in registrant fees and policies for acceptable behaviour when communicating with the General Optical Council (GOC) were discussed at the latest meeting of the optical regulator (held online, 11 December).
The council also approved the GOC strategy and corresponding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy for 2025–2030, subject to minor amendments. Below, OT summarises key points from the December meeting.
1 GOC approves strategy and EDI strategy for 2025–2030
Following a consultation on the optical regulator’s draft strategy between April and July 2024, the GOC has approved its strategy and corresponding EDI strategy for 2025–2030.
Speaking at the meeting, GOC director of regulatory strategy, Steve Brooker, highlighted that the strategy is in line with broader factors occurring in society – such as the election of a new government following the consultation period.
“We are confident that the strategy is consistent with the three big shifts the government has spoken about – from analogue to digital, sickness to prevention, and from the hospital to the community,” Brooker said.
He added that GOC registrants are well-placed to support this shift in focus.
“We also think that regulation has an important role to play in underpinning that change of direction,” Brooker highlighted.
GOC EDI manager, Jem Nash, shared with the meeting that the EDI strategy aligns with the broader goals of the GOC to create a fairer and more inclusive eye care service.
“We know that committing to EDI is the right thing to do, but it has also been demonstrated to lead to better governance, better decision making, and even better financial outcomes for businesses,” they said.
Nash emphasised that the EDI strategy has a focus on measurable outcomes.
“We hope to ensure that we can monitor our progress against our actions and make sure that they are actions, rather than nice things to say that we're doing,” they shared.
2 Registrant fees to increase 2.5% in 2025
At the meeting, the GOC agreed to increase the main registration fee by £10 to £415 – a 2.5% increase.
Student fees were frozen at £30, while there was a £5 increase in the discount paid to those on a low income (meaning that fees for this group will be 1.75% higher than the previous year).
GOC director of corporate services, Yeslin Gearty, highlighted that the fee increase is in line with inflation.
“Our recommendation allows us sufficient additional income matching our needs, whilst keeping the increase as low as possible,” he said.
He explained that the small increase in fees for applications from overseas registrants reflects an uplift in inquiries from this group.
3 GOC updates policies on complaints and feedback
The GOC has approved updated policies regarding acceptable behaviour when communicating with the optical regulator.
GOC head of governance, Andy Mackay-Sim, highlighted the importance of having clear guidance for those coming to the optical regulator with a complaint.
He shared that a number of complaints are addressed by staff in the first instance.
“There has been some fairly regular training over the past year to bolster and improve governance around that,” he said.
The updates include feedback from the Customer Service Excellence accreditor and Professional Standards Authority.
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