To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to amend the five-year time limit for the General Dental Council’s (GDC) overseas registration exam in the context of the delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic; and whether officials in his Department have had discussions with representatives of the GDC on that matter.
Answered on
23 February 2022
The Dentists Act 1984 requires the majority of overseas applicants to its register to undertake the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) to confirm they have the requisite skills and knowledge to practise dentistry in the United Kingdom. This legislation restricts the GDC from offering ORE assessment places to candidates where five or more years have passed since they first attempted Part 1 of the exam.
Departmental officials have worked with the GDC to develop a legislative solution which will provide these candidates with additional time to take the ORE assessment in the future. On 7 February 2022, we launched a public consultation on this proposed solution alongside broader proposals to provide the GDC with greater flexibility to amend its international registration processes. The consultation runs until 6 May 2022.
Subject to the legislation coming into force, the GDC will contact affected candidates to inform them of the length of time they have available to sit the ORE, prioritising those impacted by the pandemic. The GDC has been working to secure a programme for further sittings of the ORE assessment and will explain the priority system directly to affected candidates when the next candidate update is issued.