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Nursing & Midwifery Council

My hon. Friend is exactly right. It is an issue that I hope to touch on in my contribution. Another council member wrote:"““I am aware that there are other past council members as well as current ones who feel as I do about the organisation. They would be prepared to share these concerns with you but the current members especially are extremely concerned that their names are not divulged to the NMC because of a fear of incrimination, bullying and harassment. It is essential therefore that you provide a guarantee of confidentiality at the outset.””" Another former member contacted me and stated:"““I also have lingering concerns from the old council about the way a particular member of staff had been eased out of the NMC. I have signed a confidentiality agreement about that matter and so am not at liberty to say any more than this. That was the context to my own resignation.””" Another former council member wrote:"““My concerns about the NMC are a culture of institutional bullying dominated by a few individuals; a failure to respect all views even if they are in the minority; over use of outside legal advice, some of it conflicting, and; inappropriate use of registration fees.””" A former staff member wrote:"““I was very happy when I joined the organisation, loved the job and the working environment. Things changed when””" the new chief executive"““arrived and I was very soon out of favour. I was very happy with the idea of change but the changes made to the culture of the organisation resulted in a very unpleasant, punitive and negative working environment lacking transparency. Sarah held what she termed 'soft chair conversations' with staff who were not in favour. This involved me being given at one point what she termed a bollocking.””" The national committee of the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association passed a vote of no confidence in the ability of the NMC to protect the public. All those people cannot be wrong, and hon. Members throughout the United Kingdom have expressed similar concerns from their constituents. Those individuals are strong people and leaders in their chosen career field, yet every one of them, whether a past or present member, is frightened to have their name mentioned, even in this privileged place. I can think of no better proof that a culture of bullying prevails in the NMC. The culture at the NMC is reflected by the fact that some 20 complaints and counter-complaints have been filed in the past year against eight current and two previous members of the council, and I understand that there are more complaints in the pipeline. Given that there are only 23 council members, that is completely disproportionate. The NMC's expenditure on outside legal advice is also excessive. Legal fees are paid not to address the organisation's proper purposes, but to deal with, and often to create and pursue, such spurious complaints. In 2007, legal expenditure on governance issues and the costs of investigating complaints in relation to council members seeking transparency and satisfactory explanations were well over £120,000. The expenditure continues, and it is now significantly higher. The money is nurses' and midwives' money, paid in the name of public protection, and its misuse raises serious issues for public protection. Costs as high as £250,000 to £300,000 equate to the annual registration fees of 3,200 to nearly 4,000 nurses. The NMC's reaction the first time that I raised the matter in the House was to seek legal advice. It is a bizarre organisation. The concern is not only that money is being spent on complaints, bullying and so on but that staff and council members' time is dominated by those matters rather than by the organisation's proper purposes. Staff whose faces do not fit are subject to disciplinary action, paid off and required to sign confidentiality agreements. I have been told of two recent such payments of £100,000. The absence of transparency, responsiveness and integrity in the organisation means that it is not possible to hold the chief executive to account and that the governing body is not given the information that it needs for effective decision making. I understand that the NMC's approach to governance is also very worrying. It is not unusual for the decisions of the council and its committees to be ignored or circumvented, and standing orders are routinely put to one side to suit the position of the chief executive and prevent the council's consideration of legitimate business. In a formal note, the chair of the council's audit committee suggested that certain council members should be barred from participating in a council debate on the basis of their past voting patterns. I find that unbelievable. When two respected lay members of the council resigned last year, the Appointments Commission was told about it and invited to intervene, but did absolutely nothing. It went ahead with replacing the two people who had resigned, despite their suggestion that it should not do so until the reasons for their resignation had been properly investigated. We have moved on, rightly, from a situation in which professions are allowed to regulate in their own self-interest. If self-regulation is to be sustainable, it must involve accountability and the highest possible standards of ethical behaviour and competence. An important point has been made by hon. Members about the position of non-executive trustees in bodies such as the NMC. Trustees are protected against discrimination only. Because they are not employees, no other legislative protection or redress is available to them, and they can be very exposed. Unlike employees, trustees and public office holders who blow the whistle have no legal protection. The NMC was set up to protect patients, raise standards in the profession and act in the public interest. Unfortunately, it is acting only for a small group of staff. Our first priority must be to rebuild the NMC on a sound footing, but it is equally important to look to the future. The House, the nursing and midwifery professions, other professions and the public need assurances that lessons will be learned from the NMC debacle. I say in a comradely way to the Minister that, after parliamentarians from throughout the United Kingdom have expressed concern about the workings of an organisation that regulates 700,000 nurses, it is not good enough to say that the matter has nothing to do with Parliament, and I hope that he will not go down that road.