Optical bodies call for GOC fee concession

Optical bodies will be pushing for the General Optical Council to allow registrants to make staged payments after Council board members voted unanimously in favour of increasing the registration fee by nearly a third to £219.

As reported (Optician News, November 21), the registration fee proposal was just one topic on the agenda for board members who met in London last Thursday.

The current fee of £169 has been held for four years however, overheads have increased substantially, according to the Council. Increased expenditure has partly been due to the government's healthcare reform programme including the costs related to the introduction of a revalidation scheme.