NMC maintains best fitness to practise performance for five years

In December 2025, the rolling average of FtP cases being resolved end-to-end within 15 months reached 73.3% – which is the highest since February 2021.

That is a rise from 72.3% in November 2025 and a marked increase from 65.5% in December 2024.

The regulator ended 2025 with a strong performance at Screening – the initial assessment stage of FtP – reducing the caseload by 19.5% from 2,416 cases in March 2025 to 1,944 cases in December 2025.

At the Investigations stage, a monthly average of 151 cases were progressed from April to December 2025, compared to an average of 111 per month during the same period in 2024.

The regulator’s FtP teams have maintained a high level of performance, despite the trend of increasing referrals (new concerns raised about professionals) continuing – with the 12-month average rising to 590 referrals a month in December 2025, compared to an earlier average of 546 a month in March 2025.

Lesley Maslen, Executive Director of Professional Regulation, said:

“Our teams across Fitness to Practise have been working very hard, so it’s great to see that our key timeliness metric has continued to improve. Importantly, that means more people who are involved in FtP seeing their case progressing or resolving sooner.

“Maintaining a high performance in our decision-making is vital for people to experience a faster and fairer process. We are making a positive difference, but we know this isn’t the reality for everyone. That’s why we will sharpen our work at the Investigation and Adjudication stages while continuing to deliver a more compassionate and effective service.”

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