Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons members have ok-ed plans to introduce two new committees and also increase the frequency of its public council meetings in a bid to aid its decision-making processes.
The changes will take effect from this year’s Royal College Day (July 13, 2018).
It follows the passage of a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) through the Houses of Parliament that updated the college’s governance. Members of RCVS Council were presented with a paper on further changes to the committee structure at the RCVS Council meeting on Thursday, June 14, 2018.
Changes over the next two years
Among the changes accepted by council members was an increase in the frequency of public RCVS council meetings to six in 2018-19 and to eight the following year.
The order also called for a review of the current Operational Board which oversees the management of college business.
It was decided that, with more frequent council meetings, the Operational Board would be no longer needed. The board will cease to meet after summer 2019.
The new committees
Some of the work of the Operational Board will be transferred to a new Finance and Resources Committee, which will be introduced from summer 2019.
The new committee’s remits include budgets, computer technology, data issues, human resources, the college estate and strategic communication issues.
The decision was also made to introduce a new Advancement of the Professions Committee.
The new committee will be responsible for coordinating projects that fall under the college’s Royal Charter pledge of advancing veterinary standards.
This will include the Mind Matters Initiative, the RCVS Fellowship, the ViVet innovation project, RCVS Leadership, VN Futures and Vet Futures.
Lizzie Lockett, RCVS chief executive officer, said: “By approving this new direction of travel, council has paved the way for a more flexible and agile governance structure, better able to react to events and make strategic decisions in a more open and transparent way.
“The Advancement of the Professions Committee is a particularly exciting development, as the last few years have seen an increase in the number of special projects and initiatives, and having one body that oversees them will give council members greater input in how we take them forward.”
