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GDC v KK and Others: Statement on High Court judgment

27 November, 2024

The General Dental Council (GDC) acknowledges the recent High Court judgment (The GDC v KK and Others) regarding our application for disclosure of documents from family court proceedings. 

This case raised significant concerns about public confidence. We recognise that we made errors in the way that we obtained material between 2019 – 2020 and then used it at subsequent hearings including the fitness to practise hearing in early 2023. 

The material was sought in good faith, in line with our statutory purpose to protect the public – but there were significant deficiencies in the way in which we went about this task. 

In the judgment of the High Court, it was noted that this was because of genuine error and deficiency of understanding  in relevant teams handling this material, in respect of the nature of family court proceedings, rather than bad faith on behalf of either the GDC – who sought the material - or the local authority who provided it. 

Since this error became apparent, we put controls in place to ensure that it is not repeated, and destroyed all documents and data that we were not permitted to have, and launched a programme of training and education for staff.  

“We take our responsibilities regarding the gathering and handling of sensitive information very seriously and have provided unreserved apologies to the Court and the individual concerned in respect of our failings in this case,” said Clare Paget, Interim Executive Director of Legal and Governance at the GDC.  

“We will continue to embed the measures that we have put in place to ensure that our approach to seeking disclosure of important material is conducted in line with the relevant legislative regimes to ensure that we can effectively protect the public and maintain confidence in the dental profession.”