Council voted in favour of significant governance reform

17 May 2023

At its meeting on 20 April 2023, the College Council reinforced their commitment to be more representative by voting in favour of the following proposals.

Representation across career stages
  • To have two places on the RCS England Council reserved for Consultants or SAS surgeons within five years of appointment to a permanent NHS or academic contract for a non-renewable term of four years.
Regional representation
  • To have a Council liaison member for each region and devolved nation. The liaison member will be a Council member based in that region or devolved nation. For those regions or devolved nations which do not have a Council member based within it, a Council member will be allocated as the liaison member.
  • The RCS England Director in Northern Ireland to be invited to join Council.
  • The RCS England Director in Wales to be invited to join Council.
  • The RCS England Director in Scotland to be invited to join Council.
Status of Invited Members of Council

For the following Invited Members* of Council to be able to vote including votes for President, Vice Presidents and Trustees

  • Chair, Court of Examiners
  • Chair, SAS Forum
  • Chair, Women in Surgery
  • President of ASiT / BOTA
  • Chair, Federation of Surgical Speciality Associations (FSSA)
  • Chair, Confederation of Postgraduate Schools of Surgery (CoPSS)
  • RCS England Director in Northern Ireland
  • RCS England Director in Wales
  • RCS England Director in Scotland

These changes will be reviewed in July 2029.

*only Invited Members who are members or fellows of RCS England will be eligible to vote.

Arrangements for electing Vice Presidents
  • In the event that the other two Vice Presidents are men, the third Vice-Presidential place will go to the woman with the highest votes. This arrangement will be reviewed ten years after it comes into effect
What happens next?

The proposals will be presented to the membership for voting at the Annual General Meeting in November 2023 for implementation from 2024.

Proposals for arrangements for electing the President and Vice Presidents are due to be discussed and further updates will be provided.

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