Consultation: Guidance on Sanctions
The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) is consulting on proposed updates to its Guidance on Sanctions.
This consultation seeks views from registrants, patients and stakeholders on updated guidance used by our Professional Conduct Committee and Health Committee when determining sanctions in fitness to practise cases. The consultation opens on 29 June 2026 and closes at midnight on 16 August 2026.
What is the consultation about?
The Guidance on Sanctions is used by GCC committees when deciding outcomes in fitness to practise cases.
The current guidance was published in 2018. Since then, the regulatory landscape has evolved, with learning from casework and increased expectations around transparency, consistency and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
We have reviewed and updated the guidance to ensure it:
- supports fair, consistent and proportionate decision-making
- reflects developments in regulatory practice
- continues to prioritise the protection of the public
The revised guidance has been restructured to improve clarity and usability. It provides a clearer framework for decision-making, including how sanctions are determined, and the factors that should be taken into account.
Read the documents
The proposed Guidance on Sanctions sets out the framework used by GCC committees when deciding outcomes in fitness to practise cases. It covers:
- the approach to decision-making, including how committees determine proportionate sanctions and give reasons for their decisions
- the range of available sanctions, including admonishment, conditions of practice, suspension and removal from the register
- the factors and evidence that should be taken into account, including harm, risk, insight, remediation and previous concerns
- aggravating and mitigating factors, and how these influence decisions
- guidance on specific types of case, such as dishonesty, sexual misconduct and clinical failings
- the approach to review hearings and interim orders, including the evidence required at the review stage
- how equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations are reflected in decision-making
As an independent statutory body accountable to Parliament, we are legally required (as part of the public sector equality duty) to consider how the proposed guidance may affect different groups of people, particularly those who are vulnerable, have lived experience of barriers to accessing care or services or have characteristics protected by equality legislation.
Separately, we also have a legal duty to comply with the Welsh Language Measure and must consider the impact of the proposed guidance on opportunities to use the Welsh language.
Our consideration are published in the Equality and Welsh Language Impact Assessment.
Read the Equality and Welsh Language Ippact Assessment
How to respond to the consultation
If you would like to comment on the consultation, please complete the online consultation questionnaire:
The consultation questionnaire consists of five sections:
- About you and your interest in chiropractic
- Your views on the proposed GCC Guidance on Sanctions
- Your views on the proposed Equality and Welsh Language Impact Assessment
- About you (optional Equality and Diversity monitoring)
- Final comments
At the bottom of each page you can save your progress in the questionnaire and return to it at a later date.
You are able to print or save a copy of your responses as a document (for your own records) at the end of the consultation.
If you cannot complete the online questionnaire, you can also download and complete the PDF version of the questionnaire and send it to enquiries@gcc-uk.org before the closing date.
