10 Mar 2025
A smaller board, parity between professional and lay members and the development of distinct councils for all regulated professions are among the ideas set to be debated later this week.
Allister Webb
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Further proposals for sweeping changes to the governance structures of the RCVS are set to be debated later this week.
Officials say the college’s council should become a smaller board – potentially only half its current size – with parity in the number of professional and lay members.
A new report has also proposed the establishment of separate councils for each regulated profession, including a new body for vets.
The new measures, which were outlined after recent discussions by the college’s Legislative Change Working Group, are set to be considered at a council meeting in London this Thursday (13 March).
The ideas were published almost four months after council members backed a controversial proposal to scrap the present annual elections in favour of a fully appointed model.
At the same time, decisions on several other questions, including the size and make-up of the reformed body, were deferred.
College leaders have stressed that any changes will require new legislation to proceed and the latest report invites council members to consider the proposals “as a starting position for discussions with Defra”.
But the document by policy and public affairs manager Ben Myring also emphasised the view that the Government would expect its structures to “reflect the regulatory norm”.
He wrote: “Anything short of full lay parity would leave the college open to the accusation that its governance structures are unsuitable, given its core regulatory role and the comprehensive move away from registrant-majority models of self-regulation in other sectors.”
That concern is also reflected in the suggestion the college should transition from the current 24-member council towards a board of between 10 and 12, though the paper suggested there could be some flexibility to accommodate more allied professionals.
The working party also suggested there should be separate councils for each regulated profession, similar to the current VN council and including a new Veterinary Surgeons Council, which would deal with profession-specific issues.
Their members would also be appointed and the bodies would each report to the board.
The report further revealed that consideration had been given to the establishment of a veterinary advisory group, some of whose members could potentially still be elected.
However, the document advised that further discussion was felt to be necessary around the question of whether the college presidency should be separated from the role of chairing the board or council.
