A minority of practitioners might spoil a recommendation that next year's GOC fees will not increase.
A minority of practitioners might spoil a recommendation that next year's GOC fees will not increase.
The dilemma emerged this week at the latest GOC meeting in London.
Renewal fees will not rise provided there is no last minute rush of those who still use paper to attain their CET accreditation before the 2007 deadline.
The Council heard that efforts to agree a 2006-2007 registration fee at the same level as the current year - 169 - could be scuppered by a minority of practitioners who continue to use written answer sheets, rather than go online.
The Council is still in the dark as to just how many practitioners might choose to use this route, rather than the internet, right up until the end of the first statutory CET period in 14 months' time, and what that will entail in administring the data before the January 2007 cut-off point.
Prior to the meeting, held yesterday, GOC registrar and chief executive Peter Coe set out the dilemma.
'The nightmare scenario is that if somebody arrives at our front door in December next year with a wheelbarrow full of paper answer sheets for CET then that's going to cost,' he warned, 'and it could mean quite significant additional administrative costs to the Council.'
He said that if there were those who were 'determined to hand in paper' the costs could mount to between 50 or 60 per person given the manual task of assessing their entry would result in checking each sheet for accredited courses and points.
This would also need to be done within a short period of time if practitioners delivered their points at the last minute - Coe said the Council would have until January 15 2007 to check the responses.
He also stated that the Council would need to decide whether the possibility of the extra cost should be borne by all those registered in a rise in fees, or linked to the web-refuseniks who he assessed as numbering 'a few hundred'.
'The latter would mean that the Council agrees to a system whereby a fee would be costed in two chunks - the first that everyone pays ready for April 1, and then, in December, should those wish to have their CET verified on paper, another due for them.'
The dilemma emerged this week at the latest GOC meeting in London.
Renewal fees will not rise provided there is no last minute rush of those who still use paper to attain their CET accreditation before the 2007 deadline.The Council heard that efforts to agree a 2006-2007 registration fee at the same level as the current year - 169 - could be scuppered by a minority of practitioners who continue to use written answer sheets, rather than go online.
The Council is still in the dark as to just how many practitioners might choose to use this route, rather than the internet, right up until the end of the first statutory CET period in 14 months' time, and what that will entail in administring the data before the January 2007 cut-off point.
Prior to the meeting, held yesterday, GOC registrar and chief executive Peter Coe set out the dilemma.
'The nightmare scenario is that if somebody arrives at our front door in December next year with a wheelbarrow full of paper answer sheets for CET then that's going to cost,' he warned, 'and it could mean quite significant additional administrative costs to the Council.'
He said that if there were those who were 'determined to hand in paper' the costs could mount to between 50 or 60 per person given the manual task of assessing their entry would result in checking each sheet for accredited courses and points.
This would also need to be done within a short period of time if practitioners delivered their points at the last minute - Coe said the Council would have until January 15 2007 to check the responses.
He also stated that the Council would need to decide whether the possibility of the extra cost should be borne by all those registered in a rise in fees, or linked to the web-refuseniks who he assessed as numbering 'a few hundred'.
'The latter would mean that the Council agrees to a system whereby a fee would be costed in two chunks - the first that everyone pays ready for April 1, and then, in December, should those wish to have their CET verified on paper, another due for them.'