For news, opinion and updates from CC UK, read the latest newsletter
The UK CC takes an interest in all matters concerning the professional lives of consultants, in addition to negotiating national terms and conditions.
Our priorities
UK CC works on a number of issues affecting consultants. Here are our top priorities.
Pay
Since 2008 consultant pay has lost substantial value in real terms against all measures of inflation, impacting not only your financial well-being but also the recruitment and retention of doctors in the NHS. And whilst the pay deal in 2024 was a first step towards correcting our pay erosion, there is still a substantial way to go.
We continue to push for pay deals to be met around the UK, however, we all need to continue to be prepared for taking action at a future date if the path to pay restoration is impeded.
Read the latest about our pay campaign.
Pensions
The BMA’s lobbying led to a change to tapered annual allowance rules, which removed the effect of the taper from consultants with a threshold income of less than £200,000, increased the annual allowance to £60k, and the removal of the lifetime allowance. CC and the pensions committee recognise there are still issues associated with the current state of pensions that will push consultants to reduce their workload and leave the profession, therefore we continue to push for pension tax reform.
CEAs and NCIAs
With the acceptance of the pay offer in 2024 LCEAs in England have ceased. Those with existing LCEAs retain them with no further renewal process. In England, consultants with LCEAs are required to relinquish them if they successfully apply for an NCIA, whereas for Welsh consultants they are able to retain any LCEA and hold an NCIA concurrently. In Scotland they have retained local discretionary points and can apply for Distinction Awards. In Northern Ireland there has been no access to any excellence award scheme since 2009, which the NICC continue to work tirelessly to correct.
The committee’s negotiators continue to lobby to improve NCIAs, local and national CEAs in all four nations. Whether addressing attainment gaps, ensuring awards are properly distributed, or pushing for changes to the application and rewarding processes, the CC ensures the consultants' voice is part of all CEA and NCIA conversations and decisions.
Consultant's charter
The Consultant Charter was relaunched in England in January 2025. The revised version is a further step forward in holding employers to account and gives consultants a framework from which to evaluate where working practices are falling short. We intend for the Charter to be used as a tool by LNCs, enabling them to audit employers around working practices and workplace policies leading to sustained, meaningful improvements in your working lives. The Charter includes recommendations on job planning, safe patterns of working, workplace facilities and recognising and valuing consultants as clinical leaders, educators and researchers.
Read more and view the charter
Improving consultants’ work lives
CC works on a range of projects to improve consultants’ day-to-day life - from simplifying appraisals, to improving the primary and secondary care interface, to raising issues with current IT systems and the impact that government policies have on the working environment of consultants. The committee’s officers lobby politicians, NHS leaders, and the GMC amongst others for change, while its specialty leads regularly meet with Royal Colleges to better the working lives of consultants across hospital departments.
Creating a sustainable consultant workforce
Recent consultants’ workforce reports for both England and Scotland explain that the UK needs more consultants to provide high quality patient care. Gaps in rotas will only be made worse by conditions that force consultants to retire early or leave the UK. In combination with a rapidly aging population and increasing health needs this is a recipe for disaster. Without retaining existing staff, plans to abate the workforce crisis through extra recruitment will be ineffective and inefficient, as highlighted in BMA’s Tackling the cost of attrition report in 2024.
CC promotes ways to better recruit, retain and train consultants, and in doing so preserve our national health service for generations to come.
Protecting consultants from the aftermath of COVID-19
While acknowledging COVID-19 is far from being eradicated, the focus on the disease has shifted to a focus on the elective backlog. The committee is dedicated to safeguarding consultants’ right to rest after the pressures of 2020/21, and to raising awareness of the moral injury arising from the pandemic.
Read about our engagement with the COVID-19 public inquiry
Our people
The UK CC is represented by the chair, deputy chairs and voting and non-voting members.
Co-Chairs – Helen Neary and Shanu Datta
Deputy chairs for the UK CC for negotiations: Mike Henley
Deputy chair of the UK CC for healthcare policy: Simon Walsh
Deputy chair of the UK CC for development, communications and professionalism: Andy Thornley
The UK CC is comprised of representatives from the regional consultants committees in England, the national committees of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, members elected by the representative body, and representatives from other committees and organisations.
Voting members:
- 10 members elected by the representative body at the annual representative meeting, with at least one member elected to represent each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- three members appointed by each of the 13 regional consultants committees in England
- two appointed by the Northern Ireland consultants committee
- two appointed by the Welsh consultants committee
- six appointed by the Scottish consultants committee.
- one by the Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services of the British Dental Association.
Non-voting members:
- five ex-Officio posts – chair of council, treasurer, chair of the representative body, chair of the UK consultants conference and the BMA president
- three visitors from the UK consultants conference
- seven representatives from other BMA committees
- three representatives nominated by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
- five observers from external organisations
- up to three visitors through the BMA visitors scheme
- up to three co-opted members.
Associated committees
Take part in one of our free courses designed to give you the right skills to:
- break down equality and inclusion bias (CPD-accredited)
- value difference and inclusivity
- live our BMA behaviour principles.
Our meetings
The UK CC meets four times a year to discuss the latest issues and develop national policy and strategy. Meetings are open to committee members only, but non-members can apply for the BMA committee visitors scheme.
Meeting dates:
- Thursday 19 September 2024 - 10am -5pm Hybrid
- Thursday 5 December 2024 9.30am - 4.30pm Virtual
- Wednesday 5 March 2025 10am - 5pm Hybrid
- Thursday 5 June 2025 9.30am - 4.30pm Virtual
All meetings take place either virtually or at:
BMA House
Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9JP
For more information please email [email protected]
Conference
The UK consultants conference is your opportunity to discuss issues that affect you and to influence the work of the BMA consultants committee on issues ranging from the annual and lifetime allowance, to the NHS long term plan and what it means for the future of consultants.
2024
The UK Consultants Conference 2024 was held on Wednesday, 5 March 2024 in a hybrid format.
2023
The UK Consultants Conference 2023 was held on Wednesday, 1 March 2023 in a hybrid format.
How to join
There are many advantages to becoming involved in our committees. You can actively influence BMA policy-making and negotiations, represent your colleagues' voices and develop your leadership skills.
Each committee has a few routes to becoming an elected member. In the case of UKCC, these are:
- Seats/term - elections for 29 seats on UKCC from each of the regional consultants committees take place. The frequency of elections and the length of terms may vary across RCCs.
- Timeline - these elections are run by regional staff and timelines may vary.
- Eligibility - all voting members of the regional CC are eligible to stand and vote in these elections.
- Seats/term - elections on UKCC from the consultants committees in the devolved nations take place for the following seats:
- NICC - 2 seats
- SCC - 6 members
- WCC - 2 seats.
- Timeline - these elections are run by staff in the devolved nations and timelines may vary.
- Eligibility - all consultants voting members of NIJDC, SJDC or WJDC are eligible to stand and vote in this election.
- Seats/term - every year, elections for 10 seats on CC UK, with at least one member representing each of the devolved nations, take place for a one-session term.
- Timeline - the nomination period opens a month before ARM and voting closes a few days after ARM.
- Eligibility - all UK consultants who are BMA members can stand for election but only ARM delegates can vote.
The election section below is kept up to date with details about any running elections via ARM, so make sure you keep checking it throughout the year.
Should you wish to join via the regional elections, get in touch with your RCC to check when the next elections are taking place in your region.
Elections
Election to CC is closed.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding out more about the work of the UK consultants committee, please contact [email protected].
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