Registration fee increase from April 2025
Here we set out our plan for increasing the annual registration fee, the reasons why it is necessary, and to ask for feedback from you on options for setting and collecting fees in future.
Introduction
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) was established in 1965 following calls from thousands of teachers for a body to ensure standards and give teachers similar control over their own profession to equivalent bodies in medicine and accountancy.
As the independent regulator for now over 80,000 teachers in Scotland, GTC Scotland charges an annual registration fee to cover the costs of our core functions to set, maintain and uphold teaching standards in Scotland.
We were most recently given the authority to do this by this law - the Public Services Reform (GTC Scotland) Order 2011 (the Order).
Why do you need GTC Scotland registration?
In order to work as a teacher or college lecturer in Scotland, it is a legal requirement to be registered with us. Registration is a common feature of being part of a regulated profession. The purpose of professional regulation includes maintaining society’s trust in the profession, safeguarding the interests of the public, and providing a framework for teachers to meet and exceed high professional standards.
Professional regulation also ensures that teachers rather than government are in control of setting, maintaining and upholding teaching standards.
What does your annual registration fee pay for?
The annual registration fee pays for the work that we do. We:
- set standards of competence, conduct and ethics which teachers must meet to be on our register, including those who have qualified outside Scotland.
- set requirements for initial teacher education programmes in Scotland to ensure that student teachers develop the knowledge, skills and qualities to register with us.
- maintain a publicly accessible register of teachers who meet our standards.
- investigate serious concerns about teachers and make decisions about whether they should be on our register.
- advise the government on matters relating to the education and career development of the profession, including teacher supply.
Why are we increasing the annual registration fee?
We have held our annual registration fee at £65 since April 2017 – the longest amount of time that has passed without an increase. Due to the level of reserves we built up and our efficiency savings, we have absorbed the impact of turbulent economic conditions in recent years without having to increase the annual registration fee but it is no longer sustainable for us to continue operating like this.
The chart below shows that had the annual registration fee increased in line with inflation since April 2017, then the current year’s fee would have been in the region of £78.
We know that the longer we leave implementing a fee increase, the higher the increase will ultimately need to be. Based on the feedback we received from registrants the last time we implemented a fee increase, we believe that raising the fee incrementally is a better approach. This means we need to increase the fee from April 2025.
What will raising the fee allow us to do?
Our costs have increased over the years we have maintained the registration fee at £65, as they have for everyone. This means that fees have not been meeting the cost of our work.
Raising the fee will allow us to deliver our statutory functions in a more financially sustainable way and mean we can use some reserves to pay for improvement work. This will allow us to modernise our processes and systems to improve our services and better meet needs. We are introducing a new platform to replace MyGTCS and MyPL and have recently been running user testing sessions to ensure the new system is fit for purpose.
What changes are being introduced?
At its meeting on 4 December, Council agreed the following approach so that our income for each year will cover the current estimated cost of delivering our core functions. This table shows what the fees would be over our five year strategic period with the planned increase starting in Year 3 (April 2025).
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As a responsible regulator and a registered charity, we have an obligation to report on our financial operations in an open and transparent way. Our annual report and accounts provide full details of how our income is being spent.
When will the changes be introduced?
The changes will be introduced from 1 April 2025. The reason we want to have agreed the annual increases for the next three years is to provide registrants with certainty over the longer term and to give employers who deduct the fee from teachers’ salaries sufficient notice of our plans in order to make the necessary changes.
How can I feedback my views on the increase to the registration fee?
We welcome feedback from registrants, teacher representatives and employers on the approach that is being taken to increase the fee. The feedback form closes on 7 February 2025 at 5:00 pm.
Feedback via MS Form or via the Word document.
Can I pay monthly and/or by direct debit?
Not currently, no. Our finance processes and system would require significant change and investment to support a different fee collection method. Enhancement of our finance system is something that we are considering for the future.
We would like your feedback on whether this would be a useful service for future collection of fees to help us decide whether this work is something that we should prioritise.
Claiming a tax reduction on your registration fee
You can claim a tax deduction on any registration fees paid to GTC Scotland. We will issue a payment confirmation for your annual registration fee payment once we have collected the fee from all registrants to assist with this. Contact HMRC if you have any questions about the tax relief process or to find out more about how to claim.