The General Medical Council (Fitness to Practise Committees) Rules Order of Council 2000

Amendments to the General Medical Council (Constitution of Fitness to Practise Committees) Rules 1996

2.—(1) The General Medical Council (Constitution of Fitness to Practise Committees) Rules 1996(1) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In rule 3 (composition of Preliminary Proceedings Committee)—

(a) in paragraph (1) the words “and to paragraph (1A) below” shall be inserted after “13(2)”, and the following shall be substituted for sub-paragraph (a)—

“(a) a Chairman who shall be the President or, if he chooses not to act in this capacity, some other member of the Council appointed by the President; and”;

(b) the following paragraph shall be inserted immediately after paragraph (1)—

“(1A) A person may not be a member of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee if—

(a) he is a medical screener appointed under paragraph (2) of rule 4 of the General Medical Council Preliminary Proceedings Committee and Professional Conduct Committee (Procedure) Rules 1988(2) or a lay member appointed under paragraph (5) of that rule; or

(b) he is appointed under rule 5(2) or (3) of the General Medical Council Health Committee (Procedure) Rules 1987(3) to undertake the initial consideration of cases under Part II of those Rules.”; and

(c) for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted—

“(2) The President shall appoint one of the members specified in paragraph (1)(b) to be the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, and any function of the Chairman shall in his absence be performed by the Deputy Chairman.

(2A) Appointments by the President under sub-paragraph 1(a) and paragraph (2) of this rule shall be subject to approval by the Council.”.

(3) In rule 6(1) (composition of Assessment Referral Committee) the words “and to paragraph (1A) below” shall be inserted after “13(2)” and the following paragraph shall be inserted immediately after paragraph (1)—

“(1A) A person may not be a member of the Assessment Referral Committee if he is a medical screener appointed under paragraph (1) of rule 3 of the General Medical Council (Professional Performance) Rules 1997(4) or if he is a lay screener appointed for the purposes of rule 5(6), (7) and (8) of those Rules.”.

(4) The following rule shall be substituted for rule 10 (elections to Committees)—

“10.   At the annual elections of the Committees the results of the election of the Committees shall be determined in the following order—

(a) the election of the Professional Conduct Committee;

(b) the election of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee;

(c) the election of the Health Committee;

(d) the election of the Assessment Referral Committee;

(e) the election of the Committee on Professional Performance.”.

(5) In rule 12 (disqualification from adjudication) after “fitness to practice committees” insert “or of the Interim Orders Committee”.

(6) In rule 13 (filling of vacancies) the following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph (2)—

“(2) If at any time there are insufficient medical members or lay members available to sit on any of the fitness to practice committees, the Committee in question may co-opt any person (whether or not a member of the Council) who would not be disqualified from adjudication under rule 12 of these Rules.”.

(1)

S.I. 1996/2125.

(2)

S.I. 1988/2255; amended by rules appended to S.I. 1989/656, 1990/1587, 1994/3298, 1996/1218 and 1997/1529.

(3)

S.I. 1987/2174; amended by rules appended to S.I. 1996/1219 and S.I. 1997/1529.

(4)

S.I. 1997/1529.