The General Pharmaceutical Council is weighing up whether to retain powers allowing it to conduct “cover surveillance” of pharmacies including secret audio and video recordings.

The powers, which were granted under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) in 2018, allow the GPhC – “uniquely amongst regulators” – to carry out covert surveillance, which according to the Investigatory Powers Commissioners’ Office (IPCO) includes “monitoring, observing or listening to people” without their knowledge, with or without a surveillance device.

The GPhC had sought these powers after a 2012 BBC investigation uncovered instances where controlled drugs were illegally being sold over the counter.

Minutes from the GPhC’s Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) December meeting, published this week in papers for approval at a council meeting this Thursday, reveal the powers have never been used and that the ARC planned to conduct work from January 2024 “to assess whether there were cases in which the RIPA powers should be used”.

“If not, a determination would be made on whether it was appropriate to retain the powers if they were unlikely ever to be used,” said the ARC, adding: “When investigations were undertaken collaboratively with the MHRA and the police, those bodies may be utilising their powers, negating the need for the GPhC to do so.”

The ARC suggested that the question of whether to retain RIPA powers should be considered at a future council workshop, exploring issues such as “the ethical implications of having and using the powers, the possible use of RIPA in online pharmacy investigations and retaining the powers to deal with future scenarios as yet unknown”. 

While the powers have never been used, the GPhC is required to show it has policies in place to ensure they would be used appropriately. A recent inspection by IPCO “gave a good level of assurance that requirements were being met and the recommendation made by the inspector about delegation of oversight would be actioned,” said the ARC in its minutes.

A GPhC spokesperson told P3pharmacy: "We are considering our approach to the use of our RIPA powers as part of the ongoing development of our enforcement strategy and approach to the regulation of online pharmacies."