Nursing and Midwifery Council

A graphic with a pink background featuring a quote from Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices and co-chair of the Public Advisory Group. The quote reads: “I look forward to working with the Public Advisory Group and our expert members to put patients and the public at the heart of the process. We want a Code and revalidation process that works for professionals and helps them deliver for patients and the public.” Decorative coloured circles appear on the right.

A graphic with a teal background featuring a quote from Professor Sharon Arkell CBE, chair of the independent steering group for the Code and revalidation reviews. The quote reads: “By listening to patients and communities, we ensure the Code and revalidation reflect the values and expectations of the people who nursing and midwifery professionals care for. Collaboration with the public strengthens trust and transparency, while setting standards that are relevant and inclusive.” Decorative coloured circles appear on the right.

A graphic with a purple background featuring a quote from Professor Donna O’Boyle MBE, Acting Executive Director of Professional Practice at the NMC. The quote reads: “We’re grateful to our Public Advisory Group for supporting us with our review of the Code and revalidation process. Most people’s lives are touched by nursing and midwifery, so it’s vital that the public can input into something that will have such a transformative effect on care.” Decorative coloured circles appear on the right.

We’re putting patients’ and the public’s experience at the heart of the Code and revalidation reviews, working with our new Public Advisory Group to ensure updated standards are grounded in what matters to people and support professionals to deliver effective care.

www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

Graphic titled “The NMC Register: Mid-year report – What the data tells us about the UK’s nursing and midwifery workforce, April–September 2025.” The background features teal and purple shapes. At the bottom, an illustration shows a nurse sitting on a sofa beside a person, offering support. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) logo appears in the bottom-right corner.

Graphic reading “A record high on the register: 860,801 nurses, midwives and nursing associates – up 7,094 since April.” A circular teal shape with “0.8%” and an upward arrow sits on a purple curve. A pink silhouette map of the UK is shown on the right.

Graphic titled “Who makes up the register” with figures: 793,694 nurses (+0.7% up), 47,481 midwives (+1.9% up), 13,433 nursing associates (+5.1% up), and 6,193 dual registrants (–0.8% down). Upward and downward arrows appear next to each percentage. The background includes curved teal and purple shapes.

Graphic reading “Explore the full data reports: nmc.org.uk/registration-data/”. Below is an illustration of a nurse speaking with a person on a pink sofa. The background features teal and purple curves, with the NMC logo at the bottom.

📢 A record 860,801 nurses, midwives and nursing associates are now registered to practise in the UK - an increase of 0.8% since 1 April.

Our mid-year data report is now published.

Learn more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

View the full mid-year report: www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/rep...

Graphic with blue background. Text reads: “Reminder: Prescribing rules for non-surgical cosmetic medicines. In effect from 1 June 2025.” On the right side are overlapping circular shapes in purple and light blue. At the bottom, an illustration shows two people sitting on chairs and talking.

Reminder: Nurses and midwives must now consult in person before prescribing non-surgical cosmetic medicines - including anti-wrinkle injections and aesthetic emergency kits.

Learn more: nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

View the guidance: nmc.org.uk/standards/st...

"It’s encouraging that early data from our Health Pilot has been positive. Continuing to better understand people’s needs will be key to making Fitness to Practise a faster and more supportive experience, particularly at the investigation stage." - Paul Johnson, Deputy Director of Professional Regulation

Early signs from the NMC’s Fitness to Practise Health Pilot show faster decisions and a more supportive experience for registrants with complex health needs.

Over 100 cases have now been reviewed, helping ensure proportionate investigations from the outset.

www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

Across the UK, we’ve heard a clear message that advanced practice education needs greater clarity, consistency, and support. Embedding these principles is a crucial step towards delivering high-quality, consistent advanced practice education. - Professor Donna O'Boyle MBE, Acting Executive Director of Professional Practice

20 universities across the UK have become early adopters of our new Principles for Advanced Practice – which for the first time set out clear expectations for nurses and midwives working at an advanced level.

Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

Our next #NMCCouncil meeting will take place online on 26 January 2026. Register to attend here: www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/gov... (13/13)

👉 A full review of pre-registration education standards is scheduled to begin in September 2026, with consultation on strengthened practice learning standards planned for Q4 2025–26. (12/13)

👉 The Council approved a public consultation focused on strengthening a number of practice learning focused education standards. (11/13)

👉The Maturity Model, approved by Council, has been developed to measure progress, ensuring that activity translates into impact, shifting focus from outputs to outcomes. (10/13)

👉 The Independent Culture Review made 37 recommendations - we have completed 25 of them, most of which resulted in tangible deliverables. Progress on culture change will be measured via the Maturity Model. (9/13)

👉 Our safeguarding hub has been in operation for a year, and strengthened early identification of safeguarding risks. Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an... (8/13)

👉 We are taking the exceptional step of consulting with unions and a group of senior Black, Asian and ethnic minority registrants on which concrete measures we should take to remove ethnic and gender bias from our Fitness to Practise (FtP) process. Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an... (7/13)

• Removing slippage days from listings at Case Preparation and Presentation resulting in a cost saving of £150,000 (April - September 2025).
• Reallocation of Case Examiner resource reducing cases awaiting allocation by 85%. (6/13)

👉 Over the past six months, we have seen positive trends within our Fitness to Practise plan:
• Decreasing Fitness to Practise caseloads and median age of cases within Screening.
• Physical hearings averaging two days less than virtual hearings. (5/13)

👉 We’ve launched a proposed workforce restructuring programme to ensure a sustainable financial position and focus resources on delivery of core regulatory work. Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an... (4/13)

👉 We have published our Midwifery Action Plan to support safe, equitable and person-centred maternity care and education. Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an... (3/13)

👉 October marked a significant milestone as we hosted our first joint roundtable between our Executive team and Council members and the CNOs and CMidOs, where they shared their national priorities and discussed the NMC’s performance over the past year. (2/13)

📣 Today we held our latest #NMCCouncil meeting.
Here’s a summary of the key discussions & decisions:(1/13)

"During 2025, the NMC has taken great steps to embed equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as anti-racism. We are committed to ensuring that all members of the public, registrants and NMC staff are treated with respect regardless of their characteristics or background through our processes." - Paul Rees MBE, NMC Chief Executive and Registrar

"We’re determined to build an NMC where fairness and equity are at the heart of everything we do. This means confronting the inequalities that too many nursing and midwifery professionals face, and taking responsibility for eliminating them from our processes, as well as tackling inequalities within the NMC itself." - Ron Barclay-Smith, NMC Chair of Council

We’re taking the exceptional step of consulting with unions and senior Black, Asian and minority ethnic registrants on measures to remove ethnic and gender bias from our Fitness to Practise process.

🔗 Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

"Everyone wants to see a Fitness to Practise process that is faster, fairer and more compassionate for the people involved. We have made steady progress to improve – increasing the rolling average of cases resolved within 15 months, from 60.8% in July 2023 to 71.8% in October 2025. But we will go further." - Emma Westcott, Executive Director of Strategy and Insight, the Nursing and Midwifery Council

In her latest blog, our Executive Director of Strategy and Insight Emma Westcott explains our proposed Fitness to Practise rule changes - supporting a process that is faster, fairer and more compassionate - and how to have your say by 26 Jan 2026.

Read now: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

Paul Rees Chief Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council - Newcross Healthcare Rees discusses the organisation's culture transformation, the maternity crisis,

🎙️ Our Chief Executive Paul Rees MBE joins the Voices of Care podcast to discuss how lived experience shapes his leadership, our work to transform culture, reduce regulatory disparities and support professionals who face discrimination.

Listen now 👇
www.newcrosshealthcare.com/insights/voi...

Chris Kinsella, Interim Executive Director of Resources and Technology Services at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, smiling and wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and patterned tie against a dark background.

📢 We’re delighted to welcome Chris Kinsella as our new Interim Executive Director of Resources and Technology Services.

Chris joined the NMC on 17 November, and brings with him extensive experience across the private, public and third sectors.

Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

"If approved, this consultation will be an important step – ensuring that any potential changes to our standards promote consistency, flexibility and inclusion across practice learning placements, while upholding the high-quality, person-centred care people have the right to expect." - Professor Donna O'Boyle MBE, Acting Executive Director of Professional Practice

We’re seeking Council approval to consult on proposed changes to our education standards, aiming to strengthen practice learning for nursing and midwifery students.

Learn more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

"This steady progress is good news for everyone involved in our processes. But we are not complacent and know that there is still a long way to go before we reach our target of 80% of cases being resolved within 15 months, end-to-end." - Paul Rees MBE, Chief Executive and Registrar at the Nursing and Midwifery Council

Fitness to Practise cases are now being resolved at the fastest rate in nearly five years

The rolling average of Fitness to Practise cases resolved end-to-end within 15 months has reached around 72% for the past two months – the highest since Feb 2021.

🔗 Read more: www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-an...

Nursing students in uniform practise CPR on training mannequins during a clinical skills session.

A group of nursing students stand at the front of a classroom presenting their work, holding a large sheet of notes while classmates watch.

A lecturer uses a large digital anatomy screen to show a 3D model of the spine while nursing students in uniform observe.

📚✨ On International Students’ Day, we’re celebrating everyone studying to become a nurse, midwife or nursing associate.

Whether you’re learning in lectures, building skills on placement or developing your professional judgement, your dedication is helping shape the future of safe, effective care 💙

YouTube video by NMCvideos Advanced practice conversations: Bongi Sibanda

💬 Why do clarity, consistency and recognition matter in advanced practice?

Bongi Sibanda joins the NMC’s Paula McLaren to discuss how our Principles for Advanced Practice can support professionals, the public, and future regulation.

🎥: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTMj...

Graphic showing a red poppy with green leaf on a white circle, with the words ‘Remembrance Day’ above on a blue background.

On Remembrance Day, we remember all those who lost their lives in conflict, including the nurses who cared for others with courage and compassion.

#LestWeForget

The survey is open until the end of 2025. Have your say now: nmcuk.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... (6/6)

Many respondents see revalidation as a valuable opportunity for reflection and lifelong learning. They’d like more guidance on CPD and confirmation, and flexibility to tailor the process to their own circumstances. (5/6)

Another key theme is the need to challenge racism and other forms of discrimination.
Respondents also highlighted the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) -and the need for greater focus on staff wellbeing. (4/6)