What is regulatory reform?

The legislation that governs how we work as a regulator was introduced over 40 years ago and is complex, overly prescriptive and slow to adapt to change. It has hampered us and other regulators in our efforts to protect the public and support those we regulate to deliver good, safe patient care.

Reform will give us a more modern and responsive legislative framework. It will allow us to act more quickly and flexibly when patient safety is at risk, and it will mean we can better support good practice.

From 24 March 2026 to 21 July 2026, the UK government is consulting on new draft legislation which will reform how we regulate doctors, with a view to laying it before relevant legislatures before the end of 2026. 

We've published our response to the consultation, setting out the proposals we support alongside areas where we'd like to see changes.