Industry News
Light-touch regulation helps business support
Posted: 24/03/09The Association of Business Psychologists (ABP) has commended the Government’s proposals for the statutory regulation of psychologists to today’s meeting of the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee, saying that they are a good example of sensitive regulation.
Francis Butler, Chairman of the ABP, said: “After a rocky start, the Government have shown the wisdom of the adage “more haste, less speed” by taking their time to come up with a well-crafted and appropriate set of proposals.
“New legislation proposes the regulation of many kinds of psychologist by the Health Professions Council. But unlike some other psychologists, business psychologists do not deal with children or vulnerable adults, and the need for tighter regulation is clearly not there. Now – in a turnaround from earlier more burdensome proposals – business psychologists will remain self-regulating, like HR officers and other professionals working in the same field.
“Business psychologists often work in small firms, in an open-market context where their competitiveness depends on nimbleness and flexibility. Inappropriate regulation as a health profession might have severely damaged the level of support which they can offer to British businesses, at a time when the kind of competitiveness they can foster is more important than ever.
“Psychology is a keen-edged discipline – perhaps the hardest of the soft sciences. The way is now clear for business psychologists to continue to build the evidence-based and knowledge-focused approach which will ensure better management decisions – especially in areas where the UK is traditionally weak, such as training and development, recruitment and selection, and talent management more generally. The ultimate result will be an increasingly efficient and productive economy.”
Last week (19 March) the House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Select Committee drew this Order to the special attention of the House on the ground that it gives rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest to the House.
The professional titles that are proposed for regulation are: Clinical psychology, Counselling psychology, Educational psychology, Forensic psychology, Health psychology, Occupational psychology, and Sport and exercise psychology.
The Order in question is the Health Care and Associated Professions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2008.