The General Optical Council (GOC) is seeking views on a new policy setting out the process for registrants to update their registered gender.
As part of its statutory duty to maintain and publish a register of all those who are fit to practise, the GOC publishes certain information about registrants, which currently includes their gender.
The new policy seeks to make the process for updating gender “clear and easy to apply”, whilst ensuring compliance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) and the Equality Act 2010.
It has been designed to ensure fairness to those who wish to update their gender on its register, the regulator emphasised.
The GOC is seeking registrants’ views, as well of the views of other interested stakeholders, on this policy and the safeguards that it would apply.
The consultation opened in December and will be live until 20 March. Feedback will then be considered, with a view to implement the policy in mid-2023.
The consultation can be accessed via the GOC website.