Conflict of Interest Policy

1. Reviewer declarations

Before accepting an allocation, a reviewer is shown the applicant organisation, the activity and the named faculty, and must declare any interest. Declarations are recorded against the application and retained with the decision.

2. Interests requiring recusal

• Employment, directorship, shareholding or consultancy with the applicant.
• Payment from the applicant in the previous two years, including speaker fees.
• A close personal or family relationship with faculty or with the applicant's officers.
• Involvement in designing or delivering the activity being reviewed.
• A competing commercial interest, such as running a directly competing course.
• Any other circumstance where an informed observer might doubt impartiality.

3. Reallocation

Where a reviewer recuses themselves, the application is reallocated to another reviewer with suitable expertise. Reallocation does not delay the published timescale unless the subject matter is unusually specialised, in which case we tell the applicant.

4. CPD England's own interests

• Reviewers are paid a fixed fee per application, never by outcome.
• Nobody involved in selling or invoicing decides the outcome of a review.
• Refusals and appeals are considered by a second reviewer.
• CPD England does not sell course development, marketing or content-writing services to applicants, so there is no incentive to fail an activity and sell a remedy.

5. Sponsorship of accredited activities

Commercial sponsorship does not prevent accreditation, but Standard 8 requires that it is declared and appropriately managed. We look for confirmation that the sponsor had no control over content, speaker selection or the recommendations made; that sponsorship is disclosed to participants; and that promotional material is clearly separated from educational content.

6. Activities we will not accredit

• Activities whose educational content is controlled by a commercial sponsor.
• Product training presented as independent clinical education.
• Activities where faculty have undeclared financial interests in the products discussed.

7. Reporting a concern

If you believe a decision was affected by an undeclared interest, tell us through our contact page. Such concerns are handled under the Complaints Policy and may be a ground of appeal.