A view from the Chair: Trusted and effective; Council’s role in delivering our strategy; building relationships

The start of a new year is a good time for reflection and looking ahead. Our Chief Executive, Tom Whiting, has set out our priorities for the years ahead and some of the things you can expect to see as we deliver our strategy. My first three months has gone quickly – and has been a steep learning curve. I am grateful for the many conversations that I have had so far that have helped me and have candidly shared where we are doing well, and where we need to do better.

I wanted to set out what you can expect from me and the GDC’s Council members in 2026.

Our new strategy: Trusted and Effective

In our strategy for 2026-2028, our vision is to be a trusted and effective regulator, supporting dental professionals to provide safe and effective care for their patients.

We have set out our vision, values, objectives, the work we will do to achieve them and how we will measure and know that we’re making progress. It’s a different strategy, and ambitious.

Council members were heavily involved in developing the strategy and are accountable for agreeing it and setting the direction of the GDC. This means that we each have a strong interest in its delivery, and the opportunity to make a positive difference to dental regulation that will be felt by dental professionals, partners, patients and the public. Further than that, our role is to scrutinise the work of the organisation, set a positive tone and culture, and ensure that systems are in place to enable us to monitor performance.

Building relationships in the GDC

Council’s role includes seeking assurance over the way the organisation is run and holding the Executive to account, but our relationship with the Executive runs deeper than this. We have a shared vision, and we all want to champion a model of regulation that supports professionalism, enables learning, and resolves issues quickly and proportionately.

The Executive team contributes to our committees where, together with the Council Chair of each committee, we scrutinise audit and risk, finances, and performance and remuneration. Council members also spend time with teams in the GDC to understand their challenges and priorities, and what it takes to achieve the performance we need as an organisation. We also attend significant internal events that focus on staff development and engagement so that, together, we are building regulation that fits the times we’re in and anticipates and prepares for the future.

Our new strategy is deliberately challenging, and Council’s role is to ensure that we rise to the challenge. We want to be on top of emerging issues and able to anticipate and respond to them. As we do so, we will be transparent about our progress and performance, and report on these, keeping an open dialogue about our accountability to you. If you or members of the public want to see how Council meetings are held, you can attend in person or online, and I can assure you of a warm welcome. You can request to observe a Council meeting here.

Building and nurturing external relationships

Like me, Council is committed to nurturing relationships built on trust, using these to listen and learn so we support dental professionals to provide safe and effective care to patients. We have a great variety of opportunities to meet dental professionals and leaders across the sector, and we use these to listen and build relationships.

Last year, Council members were part of the GDC team as they and the Chief Executive met stakeholders and visited dental settings in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Being part of these conversations is really helpful in building our knowledge and getting to know you. Even our registrant Council members, with their firsthand and personal knowledge of dentistry, learn something new. Some parts of dentistry move at pace, and hearing from dental professionals at the frontline of delivering safe and effective patient care in NHS, private and community dental settings is so valuable.

The GDC attends many trade shows and conferences each year. Our Council members often join the GDC’s team on the stand, answering questions from dental professionals and stakeholders, helping to explain the GDC’s role and priorities. This is such a good way of seeing the business of dentistry and hearing what’s important to professionals. I’m looking forward to doing this myself!

And, of course, the GDC convenes the Dental Leadership Network, which held its tenth event in November. I say ‘of course’, but before this Network was formed, there wasn’t a place where such a broad spectrum of dental leaders regularly came together to discuss shared challenges. Council members regularly attend, listen to the expert presenters and join in with table discussions.

Going forward, I want to see more opportunities for external stakeholders to meet and spend time with Council as a whole. Time spent sharing insights and learning from within and outside dentistry is valuable. It shows that the GDC is convening and listening and will help to build relationships and understanding.

Working collaboratively is a strategic priority

One of the objectives in our strategy is to work collaboratively to speak up on, influence, and address issues that affect patients and the public. Dentistry can be quite fragmented; in the absence of a single coherent voice, people sometimes look to us for all the answers. 

What we will do is support and enable collaboration and discussions. We need to work collaboratively with our partners in dentistry, healthcare and regulation, with the UK and devolved governments and with the dental professions. 

Council is also committed to achieving the standards set for us by our regulator. To do this, we will continue to engage with GDC teams and external stakeholders alike. The GDC is determined to be recognised as a regulator that operates with greater effectiveness and works collaboratively as a valued partner. For my part, I look forward to more conversations with stakeholders in 2026. I take something away from every interaction I have and it helps me, along with other Council members, to deliver on our commitment to being a trusted and effective regulator, supporting dental professionals to provide safe and effective care.