With a statutory barring system, the regulating authority maintains a list of people who have been found unsuitable to practise a particular profession, such as NHS management. This means that it would be illegal for an NHS employer (or possibly other organisations delivering NHS services) to appoint any individual on that list to a management post.
An individual may be barred for committing a criminal offence or serious misconduct. Examples of existing statutory barring mechanisms include the Teaching Regulation Agency (which operates the barring list for teachers) and the Companies House list of disqualified directors.
A statutory barring system for NHS managers would mean the introducing a national code of conduct for managers or leaders, and setting up a new national body with the legal responsibility to consider serious complaints made about individual professionals.
Statutory barring systems are usually taxpayer funded and it would be unlikely to involve any costs for individual managers.
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MiP says regulation alone will not improve the NHS culture around raising and acting on concerns, following the findings of the Thirlwall Inquiry into the Lucy Letby case.
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MiP has welcomed the government’s decision to limit its barring scheme to the most senior NHS managers, but says the proposal is “a small piece of the jigsaw”.
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