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Feature
Feature RCVS
RCVS governance: the case for reform On being appointed President of the RCVS in July last year, Stuart Reid set out three main ambitions for his term of office. One was to consult on whether veterinary surgeons should be allowed to use the title ‘Doctor’, and this already been realised. The second was to strengthen the College’s European and international role, and a new international strategy is being considered by the RCVS Council this month. His third ambition was to continue the College’s modernisation agenda and streamline the governance of the College itself. Here, he and Bradley Viner, the incoming President, briefly set out the case for reform
Stuart Reid, Bradley Viner, RCVS, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF e-mail: [email protected] 588 | Veterinary Record | June 6, 2015
The composition of the RCVS Council is rigidly enshrined in the Veterinary Surgeons Act and, under the current system, the Council will grow in size as new veterinary schools come on stream
the 1966 Act states that elected members must always be in a majority, we would have to increase the number of elected members in order to rebalance the Council’s composition. Research carried out during the College’s First Rate Regulator initiative in 2013 demonstrated that the governance of the RCVS was significantly out of step with the arrangements in place at other professional regulators and Royal Colleges. However, being a Royal College that not only performs its Charter functions, but also regulates the profession, means that our solution may need to be rather different from those followed by other professional bodies. Reforming the RCVS Council will help to bring the RCVS in line with best regulatory practice and allow it to react more quickly and effectively to the issues of the
day than it does currently. What we must preserve is our ability to be a self-regulating profession, and our new structures must be fit for purpose. There are other considerations, too, such as the potential for further devolution of animal health legislation to Scotland and, of course, access to support and encouragement from Defra and government ministers, which means that we have a window of opportunity during which we may seek to make the appropriate changes. We are hopeful that changes effected by a Legislative Reform Order would grant the College the flexibility to make further governance reforms by ministerial Order, should any future need arise, without having to go through the same complicated process of amending the Veterinary Surgeons Act.
t
The last several years have seen substantial progress in the modernisation of the RCVS. Following its commitment to take up the recommendations made by a series of Legislation Working Groups, the College has seen significant changes to the way it is governed at a strategic level and run on a daily basis. The creation of the new post of chief executive officer and the formation of an Operational Board have allowed the College to move forward with greater purpose and direction, codified in its strategic plan. As of July this year, the Preliminary Investigation Committee and Disciplinary Committee will be constituted wholly separately from the RCVS Council, with significant lay membership, thereby ensuring the independence and rigour of the disciplinary process. The current composition of the RCVS Council is rigidly enshrined in the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. With the need for greater lay representation and a requirement to embrace an increase in the veterinary nurse presence on the Council following the new Royal Charter, together with the logistical difficulties of having a 42-person council that meets only three times a year, further reform is highly desirable. Furthermore, under the current system, the Council is likely to grow in size as new vet schools come on stream – each of which will be entitled to appoint two representatives to the Council. Because
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 19, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Feature Consultation
At its meeting in March this year, the RCVS Council agreed to set up a panel which has been meeting with the Operational Board and Defra to shape what will be a formal government consultation conducted in the near future. The panel consists of four Council members – veterinary surgeons Stephen May and Richard Stephenson, Andrea Jeffrey, a registered veterinary nurse, and Richard Davis, a Privy Council lay appointee. As a starting point in the discussions with Defra officials, two different models were explored: one simply involving a streamlined Council; the other involving a much smaller Council advised by a larger group drawn from across the professions. It became apparent that limiting the consultation to two preset options would be overly restrictive. It was therefore proposed that the consultation should adopt a principle-based approach and, instead of presenting predetermined
options for reform, feedback will be sought on the various principles upon which the proposed reform could be based. So, for instance, the consultation will ask for comments on the composition of the RCVS Council, what its optimal size should be, whether there should be term limits, and what the role of the Annual General Meeting should be. This will ensure that consultees have a genuine opportunity to contribute to the policymaking process. The panel will outline the draft consultation at the RCVS Council meeting on June 5 and Council members will be invited to give their opinions. We look forward to receiving comments from the wider profession in the months ahead. As we have said, this is potentially a once-in-ageneration opportunity to reshape the RCVS and how it conducts its business. We cannot afford to ignore it. doi: 10.1136/vr.h2944
June 6, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 589
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 19, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
RCVS governance: the case for reform Stuart Reid and Bradley Viner Veterinary Record 2015 176: 588-589
doi: 10.1136/vr.h2944 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/23/588
These include:
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Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Feature
Feature RCVS
RCVS governance: the case for reform On being appointed President of the RCVS in July last year, Stuart Reid set out three main ambitions for his term of office. One was to consult on whether veterinary surgeons should be allowed to use the title ‘Doctor’, and this already been realised. The second was to strengthen the College’s European and international role, and a new international strategy is being considered by the RCVS Council this month. His third ambition was to continue the College’s modernisation agenda and streamline the governance of the College itself. Here, he and Bradley Viner, the incoming President, briefly set out the case for reform
Stuart Reid, Bradley Viner, RCVS, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF e-mail: [email protected] 588 | Veterinary Record | June 6, 2015
The composition of the RCVS Council is rigidly enshrined in the Veterinary Surgeons Act and, under the current system, the Council will grow in size as new veterinary schools come on stream
the 1966 Act states that elected members must always be in a majority, we would have to increase the number of elected members in order to rebalance the Council’s composition. Research carried out during the College’s First Rate Regulator initiative in 2013 demonstrated that the governance of the RCVS was significantly out of step with the arrangements in place at other professional regulators and Royal Colleges. However, being a Royal College that not only performs its Charter functions, but also regulates the profession, means that our solution may need to be rather different from those followed by other professional bodies. Reforming the RCVS Council will help to bring the RCVS in line with best regulatory practice and allow it to react more quickly and effectively to the issues of the
day than it does currently. What we must preserve is our ability to be a self-regulating profession, and our new structures must be fit for purpose. There are other considerations, too, such as the potential for further devolution of animal health legislation to Scotland and, of course, access to support and encouragement from Defra and government ministers, which means that we have a window of opportunity during which we may seek to make the appropriate changes. We are hopeful that changes effected by a Legislative Reform Order would grant the College the flexibility to make further governance reforms by ministerial Order, should any future need arise, without having to go through the same complicated process of amending the Veterinary Surgeons Act.
t
The last several years have seen substantial progress in the modernisation of the RCVS. Following its commitment to take up the recommendations made by a series of Legislation Working Groups, the College has seen significant changes to the way it is governed at a strategic level and run on a daily basis. The creation of the new post of chief executive officer and the formation of an Operational Board have allowed the College to move forward with greater purpose and direction, codified in its strategic plan. As of July this year, the Preliminary Investigation Committee and Disciplinary Committee will be constituted wholly separately from the RCVS Council, with significant lay membership, thereby ensuring the independence and rigour of the disciplinary process. The current composition of the RCVS Council is rigidly enshrined in the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. With the need for greater lay representation and a requirement to embrace an increase in the veterinary nurse presence on the Council following the new Royal Charter, together with the logistical difficulties of having a 42-person council that meets only three times a year, further reform is highly desirable. Furthermore, under the current system, the Council is likely to grow in size as new vet schools come on stream – each of which will be entitled to appoint two representatives to the Council. Because
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 19, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Feature Consultation
At its meeting in March this year, the RCVS Council agreed to set up a panel which has been meeting with the Operational Board and Defra to shape what will be a formal government consultation conducted in the near future. The panel consists of four Council members – veterinary surgeons Stephen May and Richard Stephenson, Andrea Jeffrey, a registered veterinary nurse, and Richard Davis, a Privy Council lay appointee. As a starting point in the discussions with Defra officials, two different models were explored: one simply involving a streamlined Council; the other involving a much smaller Council advised by a larger group drawn from across the professions. It became apparent that limiting the consultation to two preset options would be overly restrictive. It was therefore proposed that the consultation should adopt a principle-based approach and, instead of presenting predetermined
options for reform, feedback will be sought on the various principles upon which the proposed reform could be based. So, for instance, the consultation will ask for comments on the composition of the RCVS Council, what its optimal size should be, whether there should be term limits, and what the role of the Annual General Meeting should be. This will ensure that consultees have a genuine opportunity to contribute to the policymaking process. The panel will outline the draft consultation at the RCVS Council meeting on June 5 and Council members will be invited to give their opinions. We look forward to receiving comments from the wider profession in the months ahead. As we have said, this is potentially a once-in-ageneration opportunity to reshape the RCVS and how it conducts its business. We cannot afford to ignore it. doi: 10.1136/vr.h2944
June 6, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 589
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on November 19, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
RCVS governance: the case for reform Stuart Reid and Bradley Viner Veterinary Record 2015 176: 588-589
doi: 10.1136/vr.h2944 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/23/588
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
