ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note sets out the role, powers and functions of the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The PSA was created to bring together those bodies which regulate healthcare professions and to ensure that there is an integrated and co-ordinated approach to setting standards, monitoring performance, and inspection and validation. Regulatory reform of healthcare regulators On 17 February 2023, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced plans to modernise the legislative framework for nine health and care professional regulatory bodies (which include the: General Chiropractic Council (GCC), General Dental Council (GDC), General Medical Council (GMC), General Optical Council (GOC), General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)), through a series of statutory instruments giving each regulator new powers to design their own regulatory processes to improve patient safety and help streamline the healthcare system. The reforms are

A client who possesses the experience, knowledge and expertise to make its own investment decisions and properly assess the risks that it incurs. In order to be considered a professional client (or to be treated as a professional client on request), the client must comply with the criteria laid down in Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU (MiFID II).

‘Professional diligence’ is defined as the standard of special skill and care which a trader may reasonably be expected to exercise towards consumers which is commensurate with either: • honest market practice in the trader’s field of activity, or • the general principle of good faith in the trader’s field of activity

The statutory regulation of immigration advice and services The provision of immigration advice is governed by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (IAA 1999) which requires that, with limited exceptions, any person providing immigration advice or immigration services to individuals must be a ‘qualified person’. IAA 1999, s 84(2)(c) originally defined qualified persons to include those who were authorised to practice in the UK by an equivalent designated professional body based in another EEA state; but from 31 December 2020 section 84(2)(c) was omitted by virtue of the Immigration, Nationality and Asylum (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/745. A Ministerial exemption from the need to register with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) applies to licensed sponsors if they provide immigration advice or services free of charge to employees, prospective employees and students. Similar Ministerial exemptions apply to specified educational institutions and health sector bodies. See Practice Note: Giving immigration advice in the UK. This Practice Note discusses issues of professional ethics and the regulatory frameworks applicable to the following categories

Professional indemnity refers to the legal and financial protection a professional seeks against claims arising from negligent advice, services or omissions causing a client financial loss. In practice, it is most commonly used to describe professional indemnity insurance, which covers liability for breaches of professional duty by solicitors, barristers, accountants, architects, surveyors and other regulated professionals.The term itself is descriptive rather than a defined statutory concept, though its operation is shaped by negligence, contract and regulatory frameworks, as well as specific insurance policy wordings. Across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, usage is broadly consistent, with similar expectations arising from professional codes of conduct and minimum terms for compulsory insurance in many professions.Key legal features include: cover for civil liability (often excluding fines and penalties), claims-made policy triggers, duty to notify circumstances, and insurer rights such as subrogation. Professional indemnity is central to risk management, client protection and regulatory compliance, and is frequently encountered in engagement letters, limitation of liability clauses, panel appointments, tender processes and transactions involving warranties about insurance arrangements.

Professional indemnity insurance is a commercial insurance to insure against liabilities (and defence costs), arising out of the acts, errors and omissions by professionals, such as architects, surveyors, solicitors, insurance brokers, IFAs and IT professions, in the ordinary course of their professional business.

1 The [warrantor] shall take out and maintain from the commencement of the [Services OR Works]

1 Without limiting its other obligations under this Agreement or otherwise at law, the Consultant shall maintain professional indemnity insurance with a limit of indemnity not less than that stated

This Practice Note looks at professional indemnity (PI) insurance in the context of construction projects—the requirement to hold insurance, the level and basis of cover and typical wording contained in clauses requiring PI insurance to be maintained. For a wider review of professional indemnity insurance, see Practice Note: Professional indemnity insurance—essentials. This Practice Note refers to a consultant’s obligations to maintain PI insurance, however main contractors and sub-contractors taking on design responsibility will also be required to maintain PI insurance and the principles referred to below also apply to those contractors. A contractor with no design responsibility may not consider it necessary to hold PI insurance, however, in the event that a contractor failed to follow the consultant’s designs, an employer may allege that the contractor made an ‘on-the-spot design decision’, which could trigger a PI policy. For more information, see Practice Note: Design liability in construction contracts—Responsibility for design under different procurement routes (in particular, the section titled ‘Traditional’). Requirement to hold professional indemnity insurance A consultant’s appointment for a construction project will

This Practice Note describes the professional indemnity insurance requirements for Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated professionals that apply to certain firms carrying on specified regulated activities. Regulatory setting Who is the regulator (if any)? The FCA is the regulator of the financial services industry in the UK and regulates the conduct of nearly 42,000 businesses, prudentially supervises around 41,000 firms and sets specific standards for around 17,000 firms. Unlike the regulators that regulate professional services firms, such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the FCA is not a professional body. Instead, the FCA serves as a financial regulatory authority in the UK. It operates independently of the government and is funded through fees charged to members of the financial services industry. All financial services firms, consumer credit firms and investment firms have to be authorised by the FCA, including individuals who are providing services in the sector. Is insurance compulsory? The FCA states that certain firms must hold

This Practice Note sets out the professional indemnity insurance (PII) requirements for accountants and auditors including detailed guidance on the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTC). Regulatory setting Who is the regulator? The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has non-statutory oversight of the regulation by the six chartered accountancy bodies of their members. Each of the six bodies has different professional indemnity insurance requirements. One of those bodies is the ICAEW, which this Practice Note focuses on. The ICAEW is an improvement regulator and it works to protect the public by making sure members maintain the highest standards of professional competency and conduct. Is insurance compulsory for practice/membership? Professional indemnity insurance is compulsory for all ICAEW members which have a practicing certificate and engage in public practice. Members are required to comply with ICAEW’s PII Regulations, which give details of the amount of insurance required, participating insurers and the minimum policy wording those insurers must use. The latest version of the PII Regulations is

This Practice Note sets out the professional indemnity insurance (PII) requirements for architects, including detailed guidance on the Architects Registration Board (ARB)’s minimum requirements. Regulatory setting Who is the regulator? The ARB is the architects’ statutory regulator pursuant to the Architects Act 1997 (the Act). Section 13 of the Act required the ARB to issue a code laying down the standards of professional conduct and practice expected of persons registered as architects under the Act. This is the Architects Code: Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice. Note that a new Code of Conduct became effective from 1 September 2025 (referred to in this Practice Note as the ARB Code), replacing the 2017 version. Any failure to comply with the provisions of the ARB Code is not of itself to be taken as constituting unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence, but it shall be taken into account in any disciplinary proceedings before the ARB’s Professional Conduct Committee. Since June 2022, the ARB's powers have been expanded by the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022), which