Office of Public Sector Information
PART 3 continued
56. In Schedule 1(45) (interpretation)—
(a) in the definition of “certificate of acquired rights”—
(i) for “article 36(4)” substitute “article 30(1)”, and
(ii) for “a vocational training certificate in general practice” substitute “the evidence of formal qualifications of a general practitioner referred to in Annex V, point 5.1.4 of the Directive”;
(b) for the definition of “competent authority” substitute—
““competent authority” means any authority or body of a relevant European State designated by that State for the purposes of the Directive as competent to—
receive or issue evidence of qualifications or other information or documents, or
receive applications and take the decisions referred to in the Directive,
in connection with practice as a general practitioner or a specialist;;”;
(c) in the definition of “CCT”, omit “, including any such certificate” to the end;
(d) for the definition of “the Directive” substitute—
““the Directive” means Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7th September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications(46), and references in this Order to the Directive or to any provision of the Directive are references to the Directive, or to that provision of the Directive, as amended from time to time;”;
(e) omit the definition of “EEA”;
(f) omit the definition of “EEA Agreement”;
(g) omit the definition of “EEA State”;
(h) after the definition of “ESMQO 1995”, insert—
““exempt person” means—
a national of a relevant European State other than the United Kingdom,
a national of the United Kingdom who is seeking access to, or is pursuing, the medical profession by virtue of an enforceable Community right; or
a person who is not a national of a relevant European State but who is, by virtue of an enforceable Community right, entitled to be treated, for the purposes of access to and pursuit of the medical profession, no less favourably than a national of a relevant European State;”;
(i) after the definition of “General Practitioner Register” insert—
““General Systems Regulations” means the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007(47);”;
(j) in the definition of “national”, for “an EEA State” substitute “a relevant European State”;
(k) omit the definition of “registered dentist”;
(l) after the definition of “the Registers” insert—
““relevant European State” means an EEA State or Switzerland;”; and
(m) omit the definition of “vocational training certificate”.
57. In Schedule 2 (the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board and its Statutory Committees), in Part 2, in paragraph 12(1)(b), for “11(3), 14(4) or 14(5)” substitute “11(3), 11A, 14(4), 14(5) or 14A”.
58. In Schedule 3(48) (specialities in which the UK awards a CCT, and any minimum training periods), in Part 1—
(a) under the heading “Four years”, omit the asterisk after the words “Clinical oncology”; and
(b) for the Note substitute—
“Note: The specialties marked * above are those listed in Annex V, point 5.1.3 of the Directive which are common to all relevant European States. The remaining specialties are those in which the United Kingdom awards a qualification but which are peculiar to two or more relevant European States.”.
59. Schedule 4 (text of articles 30, 31(1) and 34 of Directive 93/16/EEC) is repealed.
60. Schedule 5 (text of Annex I to Directive 93/16/EEC) is repealed.
61. In Schedule 6 (acquired rights of general practitioners in the United Kingdom), for paragraph 1(c) substitute—
“(c) on 31st December 1994 he was established in the United Kingdom by virtue of a qualification in medicine awarded in a relevant European State other than the United Kingdom which had in his case to be recognised in the United Kingdom by virtue of the Directive as entitling him to be registered as a fully registered medical practitioner under the Medical Act; or”.
62. Schedule 6A (qualifications in general medical practice awarded in EEA States other than the United Kingdom) is repealed.
63. Schedule 7 (specialist qualifications awarded in EEA States other than the United Kingdom) is repealed.
64. After Schedule 7 insert—
Article 19
| Provision of Directive | Function of GMC | |
|---|---|---|
| Article 7(2)(b) | Issuing certificates containing attestations in relation to persons established, in the United Kingdom, as specialists or general practitioners. | |
| Article 8(1) | Receiving information from, or providing information to, other competent authorities in relation to— | |
| (a) | the legality of a person’s establishment as a specialist or general practitioner; | |
| (b) | the good conduct of such a person; | |
| (c) | the absence of any disciplinary or criminal sanctions of a professional nature against such a person. | |
| Article 8(2) | Receiving information from, or providing information to, other competent authorities in connection with the investigation of complaints made against persons providing services as a specialist or general practitioner. | |
| Article 23(1) | Issuing certificates of effective and lawful practice in the United Kingdom to specialists. | |
| Article 50(1) and paragraph 1(d) of Annex VII | Issuing, in respect of practice as a specialist or general practitioner, the certificates of current professional status referred to in sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph 1 of Annex VII to the Directive within the time limits set by that sub-paragraph. | |
| Article 50(1) and paragraph 1(e) of Annex VII | Issuing, in respect of practice as a specialist or general practitioner, the certificates of good health referred to in sub-paragraph (e) of paragraph 1 of Annex VII to the Directive within the time limits set by that sub-paragraph. | |
| Article 50(2) | In cases of justified doubts— | |
| (a) | requiring confirmation of the authenticity of non-UK specialist or GP qualifications; | |
| (b) | requiring confirmation that holders of non-UK specialist or GP qualifications satisfy the minimum training conditions set out in article 25 or 28 of the Directive (as the case may be) or under article 22(a) of the Directive are to be treated as satisfying those conditions. | |
| Article 50(3) | In cases of justified doubts, verifying information provided in connection with non-UK specialist or GP qualifications awarded following training in a relevant European State other than the State in which the qualification was awarded. | |
| Article 56(1) | Ensuring the confidentiality of information exchanged with other competent authorities. | |
| Article 56(2) | Receiving information from, or providing information to, other competent authorities regarding disciplinary action, criminal sanctions or other serious circumstances likely to have consequences for practice as a specialist or general practitioner. | |
| Where such information is received by the GMC— | ||
| (a) | examining the veracity of the circumstances; | |
| (b) | deciding the nature and scope of any investigations that need to be carried out; | |
| (c) | informing other competent authorities of the GMC’s conclusions. | |
| Provision of Directive | Function of Board | |
|---|---|---|
| Article 23(6) | Issuing certificates stating that specialist qualifications or qualifications in general practice awarded in the United Kingdom, which do not correspond to the titles set out in respect of the United Kingdom at point 5.1.2, 5.1.3 or 5.1.4 of Annex V to the Directive (as the case may be), certify successful completion of specialist training that is in accordance with article 25 of the Directive, or training in general practice which is in accordance with article 28 of the Directive (as the case may be), or that under article 22(a) of the Directive (part-time training) is to be treated as in accordance with article 25 or 28 of the Directive. | |
| Article 50(1) and paragraph 1(b) of Annex VII | Providing information to other competent authorities concerning the training in the United Kingdom of a specialist or general practitioner to whom Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the General Systems Regulations applies. | |
| Article 50(1) and paragraph 2 of Annex VII | Issuing certificates stating that a person’s CCT is a qualification covered by the Directive. | |
| Article 50(2) | In cases of justified doubts— | |
| (a) | providing confirmation to competent authorities of other relevant European States of the authenticity of any person’s CCT; | |
| (b) | providing confirmation that holders of a CCT satisfy the minimum training conditions set out in article 25 or 28 of the Directive (as the case may be) or under article 22(a) of the Directive are to be treated as satisfying those conditions. | |
| Article 50(3) | In cases of justified doubts, providing information in connection with a person’s CCT awarded following training in a relevant European State other than the United Kingdom.” | |
Relevant amendments to Schedule 1 were made by S.I. 2004/1947. Back [45]
OJ No. L255, 30.09.2005, p.22, as amended by Council Directive 2006/100/EC of 20th November 2006, OJ No. L363 of 20.12.2006, p.141. Back [46]
S.I. 2007/2781. Back [47]
There are no relevant amendments to Schedule 3. Back [48]
The European Qualifications (Health and Social Care Professions) Regulations 2007