The Hearing Aid Council

The Secretary of State has appointed David Pyle as a Member of the Hearing Aid Council. David will serve as a consumer representative, replacing Prof. Norma Brooke CBE who passed away last year. You can read the press release here.

We are pleased to announce that we have appointed Jonathan Bracken as our new legal director plus Kingsley Napley as our new Disciplinary Committee solicitors and case handlers. The decision followed a value for money review of the Council’s legal framework and will be met within existing budgets. To read more in our press release, please click here.

The Council recently consulted on changing its CPD rules. Following the consultation the Council decided to make the proposed changes. To read a summary of the responses, please click here. To read more about the new CPD rules, please click here.

The small HAC administrative team receives a huge amount of mail at this time of year and want to process your retention forms as quickly as possible, but in order to do so we need your help.

Please do not telephone the office unless it is a matter of urgency. It would be helpful if you could email us with any queries and we will respond as quickly as possible. The HAC’s email address is hac@thehearingaidcouncil.org.uk

If you have not received your forms please do contact the office as soon as possible so a replacement can be sent out.

If you have not received your card by the 30th April, please contact the office.

Please note the CPD period you need to declare for is April 2007 to March 2009. If you have not been on the register for these two years you will not be required to meet the minimum points, please write down whatever points you have achieved on the form and next to it write the date you first came on to the register.

Further information on CPD can be found on our website here or on the BSHAA website www.bshaa.com.

If you wish to remove your name from the register you will need to complete a statutory declaration form and return it to the office, a copy of the form can be downloaded by clicking here.

We are currently preparing to send out letters to all individuals and employers on the HAC register requesting the retention fee for the year 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010.

You can view the documentation being sent out to you:
Chairman’s Letter
Registrar Letter
Individual Renewal Letter
Retention on Register - Individual RHADs Form
Employer Retention Letter
Retention on Register of Employers Form
Memo to all Training Companies

The HAC administrative team would like to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible for the benefit of all registrants. Therefore we ask the following:

• Please read the documentation carefully
• Ensure you return all the required documentation – last year we returned 5% of documents, significantly adding to the administrative costs to the HAC
• Please do not telephone the HAC unless absolutely necessary as this will take staff away from processing your registration
• Please keep an eye on the website for any updates and progress reports

Thank you very much for your cooperation with this.

Click here to download the results from the 2008(2) Re-sit Examination.

The High Court has dismissed an application by Hidden Hearing Ltd to require the HAC to withdraw guidance issued in February 2008. To read our press release, please click here. To read the judgment, please click here and here.

The Council yesterday set its retention fee for 2009-10. The fee was set at £695. The Council will write to all registrants shortly with a breakdown of how the fee will be spent. The fee should paid by 1 April 2009.

Norma Brook sadly passed away on New Year’s Eve. Norma will be greatly missed by all at the HAC. The HAC has published a press release which you can read here.

HAC Chairman has been recognised for public service in the New Year’s Honours list. To read more please click here.