s 13A The Council’s duty to provide guidance on fitness to practise
(1) The Council shall— (a) provide, in such manner as the Council considers appropriate, guidance for registered optometrists, registered dispensing opticians and student registrants, on matters relating to fitness to practise or, in the case of a student registrant, fitness to undertake training, and in particular on the standards of conduct and performance expected of them; and (b) establish and keep under review effective arrangements to protect members of the public from registered optometrists, registered dispensing opticians and student registrants whose fitness to practise or, in the case of a student registrant, fitness to undertake training, is impaired. (2) The Council shall— (a) provide, in such manner as the Council considers appropriate, guidance to business registrants on matters relating to fitness to carry on business as an optometrist or a dispensing optician or both, and in particular on the standards of conduct and performance expected of such registrants in carrying on that business; and (b) establish and keep under review effective arrangements to protect the public from business registrants whose fitness to carry on business as an optometrist or a dispensing optician or both is impaired. (3) Before issuing guidance or varying guidance already issued under this section, the Council shall consult groups which, in the Council ’s opinion, are representative of registrants or of persons with an interest in the subject matter of the guidance. (4) The Council shall keep under review, and revise as appropriate, guidance provided by them under this section.