Committee members

The Public Protection Committee meets up to four times a year.

Committee members are appointed for up to three years, which may be extended for a further three years.

The current committee is:

Marc Leppard, Chair
Ciaran Doyle, Lay Committee Member
Philip Matthews, Lay Committee Member
Paul Taylor, Lay Committee Member
Leon White, BACP Committee Member

The committee is supported by specialist BACP staff:

Registrar:
Emma Hayes

Assistant Registrar:
Rebecca Grace

Public protection strategy, January 2021
- our strategic goals

1. Effective regulation

To enhance BACP’s public protection function through commitment to continuous quality assurance and to increase confidence in our regulatory functions through clear demonstration of our value to all stakeholders, in particular the public.

We're committed to continuous improvement in our regulatory functions, including professional conduct and entry and maintenance of registration in order to meet our public protection function. We will explore how quality assurance systems are best developed within the department and will actively seek feedback on our work from members and the public to improve our work and inform all stakeholders on our progress. We will develop mechanisms to ensure that our public protection function is demonstrated and communicated.

What do we want to achieve?

  • continuous improvement in our performance across all our regulatory functions that we demonstrate and communicate to the public, members and other stakeholders
  • further confidence by our stakeholders, including members, the public and the Professional Standards Authority, that we can ensure the quality of our policy-making across all our regulatory functions by publishing information that is promoted and accessible
  • greater assurance for the public and employers about differentiated practice and the competences of differentiated practice and provide this in easily accessible and understandable formats
  • measurable improvement in the proportionality of response to complaints and streamlining of procedures and ensure this is communicated to all stakeholders, in particular the public

2. Effective and efficient delivery

To ensure the department is fit for the future by anticipating and adapting to external changes, so that our processes meet public protection needs and we make optimum use of available resources.

The external environment is likely to continue to change over the next few years. We need to make sure that we are agile by monitoring, anticipating and adapting to any changes. This includes making sure that we review and streamline processes to meet both needs and that we have adequate resources to deliver in the most efficient and effective ways.

What do we want to achieve?

  • an efficient and effective regulatory function, that can measure and demonstrate its impact to both the public and members
  • a valued and supported regulatory team that feels fully able to contribute
  • use of external contract for service experts that support and enhance our regulatory processes to offer independent decision-making in matters that may be of public protection
  • adaptability to changes in the internal and external environment to ensure our regulatory functions run smoothly

3. Communications and engagement

To develop targeted and proportionate communication activities that engage and inform our stakeholders, in particular the public. To enhance the professionalism of our members through promotion of learning in order to prevent harm. To promote and communicate the effectiveness of our public protection function so that members and the public understand and can have confidence in our Register.

We want to communicate and engage with all our stakeholders, including members and the public, to inform our work. This includes awareness-raising for the public and member communications to remove or at least lessen the fear and explain our work. Above all, this priority is about working with all our stakeholders to deliver activities which promote professionalism, learning for members and public understanding, with the focus on preventing harm.

What do we want to achieve?

  • increased understanding of and confidence in our regulatory functions and public protection role
  • collaboration with our stakeholders to help promote professionalism through learning and understanding and prevent harm
  • public awareness that our members are held accountable to high standards

4. Research

To use data, intelligence, analysis, research and horizon-scanning to deliver dynamic regulation to prevent harm to the public and enhance public confidence in our members. To identify issues and trends in our data which are relevant to public protection and make them more accessible to promote learning for members and help the public make informed judgments in relation to practice and service.

We want to collect data from across the organisation including professional conduct, Get help with counselling concerns service and the entry and maintenance aspects of our regulatory role and move ‘upstream’, investing more resources in preventing poor practice and misconduct in the interests of both our members and public protection. This means collecting more data, analysing it more systematically so we can drive improvement in our policies, standards and processes to prevent harm to both the public and our members.

We want to make more of the data we hold readily accessible, for example, by analysing key areas and publishing and disseminating the findings and by developing our approach to publishing and disseminating reports from our regulatory functions.

What do we want to achieve?

  • a risk-based approach by using data to identify risks which are relevant to public protection and informing both members and the public
  • better support for members so they can raise their own professional standards, which in turn, prevents harm to the public
  • evidence-informed regulation that is used to drive improvement in our work