The General Dental Council (GDC) has forecast that its financial reserves will fall below its target range as rising fitness-to-practise concerns increase its costs.
The regulator expects its free reserves to equal 1.5 months of operating expenditure at the end of 2028. Its policy range is between 2.5 and 4.5 months.
The forecast was included in an organisational performance report considered at the GDC council meeting in Birmingham on Friday 18 September.
Responding to questions from Dentistry, the regulator stressed that its current reserves remained within the target range and that there was no immediate financial pressure.
Fitness-to-practise costs increase
The GDC said its main cost pressure was the rising volume of fitness-to-practise work. It received 1,766 new fitness-to-practise concerns in 2025, an increase of 26% on the previous year. Concerns rose by a further 20% during 2026 to date.
This followed figures showing that fitness-to-practise whistleblowing increased by 74% in the year to 31 March 2026. All 138 disclosures resulted in a fitness-to-practise case being opened.
The GDC said it intended to limit the financial impact by improving efficiency within fitness-to-practise operation and across its wider operations. It pointed to MyGDC, its online registration and annual renewal service, as one potential source of wider operational savings.
A GDC spokesperson said: ‘There is no short-term pressure on the GDC’s finances, and the current level of reserves is within target range.’
The 1.5-month figure is a forecast for the end of 2028, rather than the regulator’s current reserves position.
Business plan listed for private discussion
Friday’s council meeting included public and private sessions.
The closed agenda listed the second draft of the GDC’s 2027-29 business plan for discussion. The supporting documents included an executive summary of proposed fitness-to-practise investment cases. A further private agenda item covered communication principles for the business plan and annual retention fee.
The supporting papers were not published. The agenda said council business could be held privately where items were confidential, but it did not give a specific reason for withholding these papers.
Dentistry asked the GDC why the business plan, fitness-to-practise investment proposals and annual retention fee communication plans were being considered privately. Its response did not directly address that question.
Minutes confirming what was discussed or concluded during the meeting have not yet been published.
Could the annual retention fee rise again?
The council is due to consider the final 2027-29 business plan on 30 October. It will set annual retention fees in light of its decisions on the wider plan.
The GDC annual retention fee increased by around 12.5% for 2026, rising from £621 to £698 for dentists and from £96 to £108 for dental care professionals.
The regulator has left open the possibility of another increase in 2027. However, it has committed to keeping any rise within inflation except in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
The spokesperson said: ‘We announced last year that the level of the ARF would be adjusted as necessary for 2027 and 2028, but that other than in exceptional circumstances, any increase will not exceed the rate of the Consumer Price Index.’
GDC records £1.13 million underspend
The performance report showed that the GDC spent £26.95 million against a budget of £28.08 million during the first half of 2026. This represented an underspend of £1.13 million.
The underspend was mainly attributed to the timing of information technology work, professional fees and education inspections, alongside lower-than-forecast hearing expenditure.
These savings were partly offset by higher regulatory meeting costs and legal and professional fees resulting from complex cases.
The GDC said its reserves forecast included approvals and essential expenditure agreed since its existing 2026-28 business plan was approved.
The spokesperson added: ‘The updated business plan will be presented to council for approval at its meeting on 30 October.
‘It will cover the period until the end of 2029 and will take account of the expected level of reserves at that point.’
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