COUNCIL REVIEW GROUP
ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING
COUNCIL REVIEW
MARCH 2016
The case for change
1
CONTENTS
THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING COUNCIL REVIEW
Page 4
Section 1. Introduction and background
Page 5
Section 2. Process, findings and recommendations
Page 52.1
Process
Page 6 Page 10
2.2
Key findings and recommendations
Section 3. Considerations
Page 10
3.1
Good governance
Page 10
3.2
Equality and inclusion
Page 11
3.3
Helping Council and committee members to contribute fully
Page 12
Section 4. The proposed new governance structure
Page 12
4.1
Council
Page 12
4.2
Council committees
Page 12
4.3
Membership and Representation Committee
Page 12
4.4
Nursing Practice and Policy Committee
Page 13
4.5
Governance committees
Page 13
4.6
Elections and appointments
Page 14
4.7
Country and regional boards
Page 14
4.8 Interaction with the Chief Executive & General Secretary and
senior management
Page 14
4.9
Page 15
4.10 Implementation
Page 16
Transparency and communications
Section 5. Concluding remarks
Page 17
Appendix A Background and legal structure
Page 18
Appendix B The existing governance structure
Page 22
Appendix C Existing election and appointment processes
Page 23
Appendix D Powers reserved to the membership in AGM and to the Council
Page 25
Appendix E Remit of the Council Review Group and process
Page 26
Appendix F
Page 28
Appendix G The proposed new governance structure and election process
Evidence table
ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING COUNCIL REVIEW
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Since its foundation in 1916, the RCN has seen a number of fundamental changes to its status
and legal structure. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1928; became a charity in 1963; was
registered as a special register Trade Union in 1977; and in 2010 an independent Foundation
replaced the RCN Charitable Trust.
Although we have made this series of changes to our legal structure the main elements of the
RCN’s present governance structure have remained unchanged for almost 40 years.
Those intervening years have seen the fastest level of growth in the RCN’s history – from
around 100,000 members in 1977 to nearly 435,000 today. These years have also witnessed
fundamental changes in our sector with vastly more complex regulatory frameworks, health and
social care becoming a devolved matter to the four countries of the UK, unprecedented financial
challenges to the NHS and an increase to 30% of RCN members working in the independent
sector.
In response, RCN Council appointed a Council Review Group (CRG) in July 2014 to review the
governance structure as a whole; how it meets the requirements for effective governance
in today’s rapidly-changing world; how it supports our dual role as a Trade Union and Royal
College and how well it represents RCN members. The brief was to look at the role of Council and
its committees and how they work with the other parts of the governance and representative
structure, with the Chief Executive & General Secretary and other senior staff, and with
members. The Council Committees included in the review are: Membership and Representation
Committee (MRC); Nursing Practice and Policy Committee (NPPC); Audit Committee; Business
Committee; Governance Support Committee and Remuneration Committee.
The Council Review Group consisted of one independent member, three members of RCN
Council who were elected to the Committee by Council and three member representatives
appointed through an open application process.
COUNCIL REVIEW GROUP
ChairIndependent member
Michael Brown, Chair of Council Elizabeth Butler
Council members Members
Gordon LeesAnn Farenden
Ian NorrisHarvey Morgan
Anne WellsChristine Perry
We were supported by Theresa Fyffe, Director, RCN Scotland; Jeannett Martin, Regional Director,
South West; and Jane Clarke, Head of Governance.
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ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING COUNCIL REVIEW
SECTION 2: PROCESS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1 PROCESS
Over 10,000 members have fed their views into the process so far.
We carried out an evidence-based performance review of Council and its committees against
their terms of reference and role descriptors. We:
• observed meetings
• carried out desk top reviews of all meeting paperwork
• interviewed the chairs and members of all the committees.
In addition we:
•
•
•
•
conducted an all-member survey
commissioned an external perceptions survey
analysed a self-assessment survey completed by all members of Council
took evidence from members of the boards, committees and forums and from individual
members and staff
• tested our key findings with Council, board, committee, branch and forum members.
All the evidence we took was collated and weighted.
5
PROCESS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
2.2 KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
There was remarkable consistency in the responses from all the groups.
The evidence tells us that the future success of the organisation will depend on our ability to
improve the standing and reputation of the nursing profession and that Council needs to
explain its strategy for addressing the status of the nursing profession and building its
credibility and influence with government.
Feedback also highlighted that our governance arrangements play an important role in
demonstrating how we meet both our royal college and trade union responsibilities within a
sustainable business model.
The key findings and our recommendations are set out below.
FINDING 1
RECOMMENDATION 1
Our governance structure needed to reflect
better the changing and different political
and employment contexts across the UK.
Our decision making, our democratic
processes and ways of working should be
reviewed to better reflect that health and
social care policy is a devolved matter and
that increasing numbers of our members
are working in the independent sector/
community settings.
FINDING 2
RECOMMENDATION 2
The current governance structure is too large
and unwieldy.
Our governance structure should continue
to be member-led but needs to be smaller
with fewer committees to avoid duplication
of effort and improve decision making and
accountability.
The number of committees results in
considerable duplication, increases the
demands on Council members, and leads to a
lack of clarity and transparency.
We need to do more to reduce the demands
on individual Council members by involving
The size of Council and its committees was
more members on the Council Committees
also flagged as a concern. It was felt this
and by electing Board Chairs from within the
made it hard for members to discharge their membership of the boards in future.
individual responsibilities.
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PROCESS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDING 3
RECOMMENDATION 3
Members want to be confident that Council
has a real grip on what the organisation is
doing and that their subscriptions are being
spent to best effect.
As our governing body Council needs to be
more strategic: setting the direction and
budget; delegating work to the Committees
with a clear brief and timeline; and monitoring
and challenging organisational performance.
Currently there is no single body within
the existing governance structure which
is seen as effectively discharging all the
governance duties. Council looks more like a
representative body rather than the decision
making Board of the RCN Group.
We should review our election process to
ensure a wide enough breadth of experience
and skills to fulfil the responsibilities of a
governor of a large complex organisation and
to reflect properly the RCN’s trade union and
royal college roles.
We need to review the terms of reference of
Council and the way it works and delegates
work to the Committees. The delegation
process and the accountability for the TU
and royal college decision making/activities
to the Membership and Representation
Committee and the Nursing Practice and
Policy Committee need to be clearer.
FINDING 4
RECOMMENDATION 4
Our royal college role needs to be
strengthened with more input from
members. In particular, our education
agenda is not strong enough and there is
too much focus on generic nursing as
opposed to specialist nursing roles.
The remit of the Nursing Practice and Policy
Committee should be strengthened with clear
delegated authority to reinforce our royal
college role which includes our education work.
The composition of the Nursing Practice and
Policy Committee and selection process
should be reviewed to ensure that there is
more input from members with a broad range
of relevant experience, knowledge and skills
to ensure we deliver the royal college agenda.
7
PROCESS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDING 5
RECOMMENDATION 5
The trade union executive function
needs reinforcing.
The remit of the Membership and
Representation Committee should be
strengthened with clear delegated authority
to reinforce our trade union work. The
composition of the Membership and
Representation Committee and our election
process should be reviewed to ensure that
there is more input from members from a
broad range of employment contexts with the
relevant experience, knowledge and skills to
strengthen our trade union activity.
FINDING 6
RECOMMENDATION 6
Council does not always have access to the
Council members should have more direct
expertise and professional advice it requires. access to the RCN’s professional advisors.
Governance Support Committee has been
asked to review the role and range of external
advisers we require on the Audit, Business,
Remuneration and Governance Committees
to provide assurance to Council about our
systems and processes, risk management
and our statutory compliance.
FINDING 7
RECOMMENDATION 7
We did not give sufficient emphasis to
equality and inclusion.
The College should develop and implement
an equality and inclusion strategy to ensure
that decisions take account of and are in the
best interests of all its members. Our election
policy and procedures should undergo a root
and branch rethink to ensure they are seen
to be fair and accessible for all and will lead
to our governance structure reflecting both
nursing and the society we service.
FINDING 8
RECOMMENDATION 8
Members of Council and its Committees
are often unclear about their roles and as a
result may lack confidence to challenge and
ask questions.
We need to put in place a tailored training
and development programme to support
Council and Committee members to develop
their skills and competencies.
8
PROCESS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDING 9
The different roles of the President,
Chair of Council and Chief Executive &
General Secretary are not well understood.
RECOMMENDATION 9
We need to communicate how the Council
and the Executive work together as a single
team to set the strategic direction of the
organisation and deliver the work programme
and explain the roles of the President and the
Chair of Council.
FINDING 10
RECOMMENDATION 10
Council’s responsibilities in relation to the
RCN’s subsidiaries are not clear.
We need to put in place a stronger
decision-making and reporting structure
for the RCN Group which includes the
RCN Charter Body, the RCN Foundation,
the RCN Publishing Company and RCN Law.
9
ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING COUNCIL REVIEW
SECTION 3: CONSIDERATIONS
3.1 GOOD GOVERNANCE
Our recommendations have been guided by general principles of good governance:
• the organisation should have a clearly identifiable governing body which accepts full
responsibility for its strategy and decisions
• the governing body should have a composition and be of a size to enable it to operate and
take decisions effectively
• the structure should allow for the governing body to be held effectively to account on behalf
of the membership
• the governing body and its processes should be understood by members and stakeholders,
and should give them confidence in the way the organisation is run
• the process for electing members of the governing body is clear and seen to be fair and
accessible to all and will ensure it reflects the membership at large
• members of the governing body should be properly supported by a programme of induction,
training, development and appraisal
• it should be clear which powers and functions can only be exercised by the governing body
and which are delegated to committees or to staff.
3.2 EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
Our own employment relations work confirms that focusing on equality improves employment
practice, our advice, support and representation services and the outcomes for members, and
gives weight to our policy and campaigns work.
We also know from our recruitment and retention work that people are more likely to join an
organisation that they relate to and feel an automatic connection to.
We work in a fast-changing, constantly-evolving economic and political context. This is changing
the face of nursing and the employment status of our members. The changing demographic of
our country and nursing is, and will increasingly, require real change and we need to make sure
that, as an organisation, we reflect both what nursing will look like in the future and the society
we serve.
We also need to ensure we have the knowledge base; variety of perspectives and diversity of
thought to take the right decisions; deal with complex problems and create innovative solutions
in this challenging climate.
Our evidence confirms that members recognise this and for the first time at the 2014 Annual
General Meeting we received questions about the composition of Council and Boards.
It is a really important outcome of this review that we identify and agree solutions which will work
as part of our engagement strategy and our elections and appointments systems and processes.
10
CONSIDERATIONS
3.3 HELPING COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO CONTRIBUTE FULLY
There should be a more systematic scheme for inducting new members of the Council and its
committees to ensure clarity of individuals’ roles and to brief them on the RCN’s work.
This should be coupled with ongoing tailored training and development of the members of
these bodies. This will help individual members to make their contribution to the organisation
as effective and rewarding as possible. Members will also be able to demonstrate how their
work with the RCN contributes to their revalidation.
Each body should, as a whole, regularly review its own performance and effectiveness.
In addition, Members of Committees will have individual 1-1s and appraisals with the Chair of
their Committee.
This work will in turn help employers understand more clearly the value to them of members
actively participating in the work of the RCN.
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ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING COUNCIL REVIEW
SECTION 4: THE PROPOSED NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
4.1 COUNCIL
The Council should continue to be the governing body of the organisation and the trade union
executive playing the crucial role as the conscience of the organisation.
It will set the strategic direction of the organisation; it will delegate, evaluate and monitor; and
it will challenge the activities carried out by the three central committees and the country and
regional boards.
It will hold the Membership and Representation Committee (MRC), the Nursing Practice and
Policy Committee (NPPC) and the Business Committee to account. It will continue to have the
authority to reverse any decisions they make if they do not believe they are in the best interests
of the membership as a whole.
4.2 COUNCIL COMMITTEES
By delegating the trade union and the royal college agendas to MRC and NPPC respectively and
ensuring the right members are on the Committees, Council will strengthen both the trade union
and royal college roles.
4.3 MEMBERSHIP AND REPRESENTATION COMMITTEE
MRC’s remit will include oversight of the responsibilities of the current Trade Union
Governance Group and the five UK Representatives Committees, recognising the key role that
representatives play in the RCN.
This will enable a single debate to take place on important issues and for clear decisions to be
taken, as opposed to the current structure involving five separate committees and Council.
It will be for MRC to recommend to Council which groups it will need to support members and to
ensure our accredited representatives have the support they need to fulfil their roles. This will
include overseeing country and regional representative networks and deciding which task and
finish groups the RCN needs to ensure that the interests of our members and representatives
are safeguarded at all times.
4.4 NURSING PRACTICE AND POLICY COMMITTEE
NPPC’s remit will include oversight of the work of the current Clinical Advisory Group, Ethics
Committee, Forums and the International Committee. NPPC will decide what groups it needs to
deliver its terms of reference. It will also ensure the needs of health practitioner members and
student nurse members are met and will make sure that Fellows are involved in the professional
work of the College as appropriate.
Again, this will promote focussed debates and clear decisions on important issues rather than
having debates spread across many different bodies and Council as it is at the moment.
The contribution which the forums make should be more widely recognised. It will be for NPPC
to decide which forums the organisation needs at a given time. The forums’ role of providing
independent guidance and support to staff should be clarified and each should have written
terms of reference. Each forum should report annually on whether the work they have carried
out gives rise to any general points of principle for the College to take into account.
12
THE PROPOSED NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
There is more work to do to decide whether the current Health Practitioner and Students
committees meet the needs of our HCA and student members. The Governance Support
Committee has been asked to work with these two Committees in 2016 to propose a way of
working for the future before the 2016 Annual General Meeting.
4.5 GOVERNANCE COMMITTEES
The Business Committee will be the third Council Committee. It will focus on the organisation’s
business strategy and financial planning.
In addition, there will continue to be an Audit Committee. It will provide oversight and provide
assurance to Council on financial reporting and disclosure; external and internal audit
functions; regulatory compliance; internal control and risk management and will ensure that
resources are being used to best effect and that value for money is being achieved.
A small Remuneration Committee will continue to meet once a year and the Governance,
Support Committee will meet as required to ensure that our constitutional and governance
documentation and processes are up-to-date at all times and kept under regular review.
We will be referring the detailed findings from the business work stream on ways to develop our
commercial strategy to Council for decision in due course.
4.6 ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
There is still more work to do and discussions to have with members about how we ensure that
our election and appointment processes are fair and accessible to all and that the membership
of Council and its Boards and Committees reflects both nursing and the society we service.
Governance Support Committee will lead this work and will make recommendations back to
Council later this year.
However, to implement the findings of the review we recommend that, as a starting point, the
membership elects 14 members to serve on Council, as well as 14 members to serve on each of
the Membership and Representation and Nursing Practice and Policy Committees.
This replaces the 28 members currently elected to Council by the membership.
The membership of the Business and Audit committees will have a clear and transparent
appointments process and will include members and independent advisers with the relevant
skills and experience.
The Chairs of MRC, NPPC and the Business Committee continue to be elected.
The Chair of the Audit Committee continue to be appointed.
The election procedures include constraints to ensure that Council, boards and committees
have the breadth of skills and experience they need to fulfil their role and that reflect the
diversity of the membership as a whole.
The President, Deputy President and Chair of Congress are elected and continue to serve on Council.
The Chair of Council is elected from within the membership of Council.
Each Country and Regional board will have a sub-committee responsible for publicising
elections and for succession planning for Council, MRC and board members.
13
THE PROPOSED NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
4.7 COUNTRY AND REGIONAL BOARDS
The Boards should continue with their existing role of overseeing the RCN’s activities in their
country or region and coordinating the activities of the branches and other member networks.
They will champion country and regional issues and cultural diversity and they will act as
ambassadors for the organisation in their country or region ensuring that members’ views and
issues inform their decision making.
We propose that the Chairs will be elected from within the membership of the boards. This will
provide new development and succession planning opportunities, enable more members to be
actively involved in our work and allow for the workload to be more evenly distributed.
The Chair of Council should keep in regular contact with the Country and Regional Chairs to
ensure that their views are being taken into account, and that the Chairs are aware of the RCN’s
overall priorities, challenges and opportunities at all times.
The Chairs of MRC and NPPC should keep in regular contact with the Country and Regional
Chairs to ensure that the boards’ views are being taken into account and that the Chairs are
aware of the organisation’s overall strategy and priorities.
4.8 INTERACTION WITH THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE & GENERAL SECRETARY AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
The relationship between the Council, its Committees and Boards is crucial to the effective
operation of the organisation. It is important to remember that Council should set the strategic
direction of the organisation and the Chief Executive & General Secretary and the Executive
Team manage the work on Council’s behalf.
Effective communication is paramount to ensure that it is clear who is making the decisions and
when. The aim is for the Council and the Executive to work together as a single team and the
Chief Executive & General Secretary has reviewed the Executive Team structure with this in mind.
Our consultations have shown that the roles of the President and Chair of Council are not
understood internally or externally and need to be clarified.
4.9 TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATIONS
A lot of work is already ongoing to improve our communication with members and to support
member-to-member engagement. The Members’ Access to Information project will ensure that
the RCN and its active members can exchange information, views and ideas more effectively
using new technology.
However, the organisation still needs to undertake further work to explore how it can better
communicate effectively with the membership at large.
We also need to make information on our decision-making processes and decisions more
readily accessible.
14
THE PROPOSED NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
4.10 IMPLEMENTATION
These changes do not require changes to the Charter. Changes to Standing Orders need
approval by the membership at the 2016 Annual General Meeting.
Council has the authority under the Standing Orders to approve the further proposed changes
to the governance arrangements but will be taking into account the views of members at the up
and coming Board, Branch, Forum and Committee meetings and at the 2016 AGM itself before
agreeing how to implement the findings of the Council Review Group.
Detailed transition arrangements will be published separately by RCN Council after its April
Council Meeting.
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ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING COUNCIL REVIEW
SECTION 5: CONCLUDING REMARKS
The package of measures which we are recommending will bring significant improvements to
the way the RCN works.
The RCN will have a very much simpler decision-making process which works smoothly and can
be readily understood.
The process will allow the organisation to make better decisions more quickly.
It will have a Council with a clear governance role which it is able to fulfil properly and can be held
to account. It will have access to the advice and expertise it needs to inform its decision making.
The Boards, branches, forums and committees are fundamental to the success and character
of the organisation and will be strengthened by renewed clarity as to their terms of reference.
New terms of reference and revised election and appointments processes will increase the pool
of members willing to put their names forward for RCN positions.
16
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX A: BACKGROUND AND LEGAL STRUCTURE
LEGAL STRUCTURE – HISTORY
The Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom was established in 1916. It was incorporated
by Royal Charter in 1928 and became a charity in 1963.
In 1977, the RCN was registered as a special register trade union under the Trade Union and
Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act and the Royal College of Nursing, as a whole, was removed
from the register of charities. Its property and income were registered as a charity and a
declaration of trust was executed over the property held by the charter body at that time and the
Royal College of Nursing Charitable Trust created with the RCN Council as corporate trustees.
In 2010, the RCN Charitable Trust and the RCN Property and Income Charity were removed from
the Charity Commission register and an independent RCN Foundation (charity number 1134606)
was established. A Charity Commission order provided for the assets of the RCN Group to be
divided between the College and the new registered charity (RCN Foundation).
CURRENT LEGAL STRUCTURE
The RCN is a royal college set up by Royal Charter, registered by the Privy Council and a special
register trade union established under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation)
Act 1992. It has both professional and trade union objectives.
The RCN Foundation is registered as a company limited by guarantee and the RCN is the sole
member. It is part of the consolidated RCN Group. The RCN Foundation is an independent
registered charity with an independent board of trustees. The RCN Foundation shares the four
royal college objectives of the RCN but does not have the trade union objective.
The RCN has one trading subsidiary, RCN Publishing Company Limited trading as RCNi. The
RCN is the sole shareholder and all the profits are invested back into the RCN for the benefit of
members. RCNi has a separate board of directors.
In 2015 the RCN, through a subsidiary company, RCN Holdco Limited, entered into a Limited
Liability Partnership (RCN Law LLP) with firm of solicitors, New Law, to handle outsourced
personal injury cases in England and Wales only. RCN Law LLP has been authorised by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority.
17
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX B: THE EXISTING GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
The RCN has a governance structure which includes a Council, committees and boards and sets
strategy and direction in line with the overall purpose, and ensures accountability to members
by monitoring performance and ensuring effective compliance controls are in place.
Council, committee and board members are there to ask questions, offer constructive challenge
and ensure the RCN is open, transparent and honest with its members.
The RCN also has representative committees which put forward the views of members and
represent their interests. Council, its committee and boards have an obligation to consult with
and listen to the representative committees before taking decisions.
The current structure is set out below:
COUNCIL
RCN Council is responsible for the overall governance of the RCN and ensures it meets
its statutory purposes. It sets the strategic direction of the organisation and has ultimate
responsibility for its long-term financial sustainability.
There are currently 31 members of RCN Council, with two members each from Scotland, Wales,
Northern Ireland and each of the nine English regions. They are directly elected by members in
their region or country. RCN Council also includes the President and Deputy President, the Chair
of RCN Congress, two student members and two health practitioner members.
COUNCIL COMMITTEES
Two Council committees assist Council with policy development covering the trade union and
professional sides of the College. Both committees are made up of Council members. They are:
• RCN Membership and Representation Committee (MRC) supports, oversees and
takes decisions on behalf of Council on matters affecting the RCN membership and
member representation. This includes pay, terms and conditions, health and safety,
and workforce planning.
• RCN Nursing Practice and Policy Committee (NPPC) supports, oversees and takes decisions
on behalf of Council in relation to professional nursing issues and health policy. This
includes promoting best practice and influencing the health and social care agenda.
Students and health practitioner members are represented through the following:
• RCN Students Committee considers issues of importance to nursing and midwifery students,
promotes activities to help students and influences policy. Members of the committee are
elected by RCN student members.
• RCN Health Practitioner Committee considers issues of importance to health care assistants
and assistant practitioners, promotes their role in the College and influences policy.
Members of the committee are elected by RCN health practitioner members.
18
APPENDIX B
COUNCIL SUB-COMMITTEES
There are also three Council sub-committees that assist Council with policy development and
carry out work delegated by Council. Members of the Ethics and International committees are
appointed by Council based on their experience and skills. The Agenda Committee is elected
by voting members at RCN Congress. The three sub-committees are:
• RCN Agenda Committee recommends the agenda for Congress week to Council and acts as
a source of advice for members about the business of Congress.
• RCN Ethics Committee advises Council on all ethical issues.
• RCN International Committee advises Council on issues that affect nurses around the world,
as well as reviewing the RCN’s work with international organisations.
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEES
There are four governance committees to assist Council with particular responsibilities. Each
committee is made up of Council members and external advisers who bring professional
expertise. They are:
• RCN Audit Committee reviews the RCN’s financial and risk management arrangements,
making sure that things are run efficiently, and making recommendations to Council on the
appointment and work of external and internal auditors.
• RCN Business Committee advises Council on the development of its financial and business
strategies. The RCN Investment Committee Sub-Group reviews the investment policy,
mandate and performance and reports directly to the Business Committee.
• RCN Remuneration Committee is appointed by Council to assist it in discharging its
responsibilities for RCN staff. It advises Council on the pay and other terms and
conditions for RCN staff, as well as agreeing the remuneration of the RCN Chief Executive
& General Secretary.
• RCN Governance Support Committee champions good governance practice across the
organisation, making sure that the RCN’s ways of working and governance policies are
effective. The committee also oversees the current Legal and Governance Review.
GOVERNANCE GROUPS
These groups advise MRC and NPPC about the governance of the RCN’s representative
committees. The membership varies from group to group to meet their individual needs.
Reporting to Membership and Representation Committee:
• RCN Trade Union Governance Group acts as a regulatory mechanism for the UK committees
(the UK Stewards’, Learning Representatives’ and Safety Representatives’ Committees),
making sure that good governance practices are adhered to and that the work of the
committees helps the RCN meet its strategic objectives.
19
APPENDIX B
Reporting to Nursing Practice and Policy Committee:
• Forums Governance Group acts as a regulatory mechanism for RCN forums, making sure that
good governance practices are adhered to and that the work of the forums helps the RCN
meet its strategic objectives.
REPRESENTATIVE COMMITTEES
These committees provide a network for feedback of information and influence policy. They
contain members from across the UK or across the range of nursing specialisms to represent
their part of the RCN’s membership.
Reporting into Nursing Practice and Policy Committee:
• RCN Forum Chairs Committee promotes the work of forums (UK-wide groups of RCN
members working in a similar nursing specialty) and ensures they work together to inform
RCN practice and policy. It is made up of the chair of each forum.
Reporting into Membership and Representation Committee:
• RCN UK Stewards’ Committee provides a network for the feedback of information to boards
and local stewards, and advises on the RCN’s employment policies. It also provides a means
for boards and local representatives to feed their concerns and priorities into the Trade
Union Governance Group and MRC.
• RCN UK Learning Representatives’ Committee provides a network for the feedback of
information to boards and local learning representatives, and advises on the development
of RCN policy on lifelong learning. It also provides a means for boards and local
representatives to feed their concerns and priorities into the Trade Union Governance Group
and MRC.
• RCN UK Safety Representatives’ Committee provides a network for the feedback of
information to boards and local safety representatives, and advises on the RCN policy
on workplace health and safety issues. It also provides a means for boards and local
representatives to feed their concerns and priorities into the Trade Union Governance Group
and MRC.
COUNTRY AND REGIONAL BOARDS
There are three country and nine regional boards. Boards are responsible for the governance
of the country or region. Boards also carry out work delegated to them by Council. They are
accountable to members for the actions taken in the country or region, and for involving
members in these decisions and keeping them well informed.
A diagram of the current structure is on the following page.
20
APPENDIX B
rs
be
em
rm
ne
RCN Northern
Board
RCN North
West Board
RCN Scotland
Board
RCN UK Safety
Representatives’
Committee
RCN UK Learning
Representatives’
Committee
RCN UK
Stewards’
Committee
RCN Forum Steering
Committees
RCN Forum Chairs
Committee
Ac
cr
ed
s
ive
tat
en
es
pr
re
RCN Northern
Ireland Board
Student members
d
ite
He
alt
hp
ra
ct
iti
o
RCN Council,
committees
and groups
Student
Information
Officers
RCN Trade
Union
Governance
Group
RCN Health
Practitioner
Committee
RCN Yorkshire
& Humber
Board
RCN Students
Committee
RCN Student
Governance Group
RCN
Membership
and
Representation
Committee
RCN Forums
Governance Group
RCN
Council
RCN Audit
Committee
External advisors
rs
l
na
r
te
o
vis
ad
RCN Business
Committee
ors
RCN
Governance
Support
Committee
rna
l ad
vis
RCN Eastern
Board
ors
Exte
vis
l ad
rna
ch
an
Br
es
Exte
RCN Wales
Board
RCN East
Midlands Board
RCN Ethics
Committee
RCN
Remuneration
Committee
Ex
RCN
International
Committee
RCN
London Board
RCN South
East Board
th
er
m
em
be
rg
rou
ps
RCN West
Midlands Board
RCN Agenda
Committee
Nurse members
Forums
RCN Nursing
Practice
and Policy
Committee
O
Representative Committees
RCN South
West Board
Governance Groups
Council Committees
Council Sub-Committees
Professional groups
Governance Committees
Country and Regional Boards
21
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX C:
EXISTING ELECTION AND APPOINTMENT PROCESSES (SUMMARY)
Roles
Who can stand
Council members –
country and regional (24)
Nurse members in the
Nurse members in the
Election –
relevant country and regions relevant country and regions under TULRCA rules
Council members –
students (2)
Student members
All student members
Election –
under TULRCA rules
Council members –
HP (2)
HP members
All HP members
Election –
under TULRCA rules
Board members
Any member from
country/region
All members in
country/region
Election
Board chairs
The 2 Council members
from that country/region
The board members
Election
Board vice chair
Members of the board
from the country/region
but not the 2 Council
members
The board members
Election
Chair and VC of Council
Nurse members of Council
(except Chair of Congress)
Council
Election
Members of MRC,
NPPC, Business, Audit,
Governance Support
Members of Council
n/a
Appointment by Council
Chairs of MRC, NPPC,
Business (and Hon Treas),
Governance Support
Members of Council
Members of Council
Election
Vice Chairs of MRC,
NPPC, Business,
Governance Support
Members of relevant
committees
Members of relevant
committees
Election
Advisers to Business,
External
Audit, Governance Support
n/a
Appointment by Council
Chair of Audit
n/a
Appointment by Council
22
External
Who can vote (if election) Process
APPENDIX D
APPENDIX D:
POWERS RESERVED TO THE MEMBERSHIP IN AGM AND TO THE COUNCIL
The RCN’s Royal Charter states that:
1. Royal Charter and Rules
The College may adopt or amend the Royal Charter and Rules by a Special Resolution of
the Members with the agreement of The Queen and the Privy Council in the case of the
Charter, and the Privy Council in the case of the rules.
2. Standing Orders
The College may adopt or amend Standing Orders for the internal governance of the
College by a Special Resolution of the Members provided that such Standing Orders shall
not be repugnant to this Our Charter.
3. Regulations
The Council may adopt or amend Regulations to supplement the Standing Orders by a
Special Resolution of Council provided that such Regulations shall not be repugnant to
this Our Charter.
In other words, no amendments can be made to the Royal Charter, Rules or Standing Orders
without a special resolution put to the members. Such a special resolution would be made at
a general meeting.
Amendments to the regulations may be made by special resolution of Council.
In both instances a 2/3 majority is required for an amendment to be passed
(Ref Royal Charter ‘Definitions’].
23
APPENDIX E
APPENDIX E: REMIT OF THE COUNCIL REVIEW GROUP AND PROCESS
THE BRIEF
A review of how RCN Council and the Council Committees work with the other parts of the
governance and representative structure; the Chief Executive & General Secretary and other
senior staff.
OBJECTIVE OF THE REVIEW
To assess the effectiveness of Council and the Council Committees and use the results to improve
the way they work and inform the creation of appropriate induction and development programmes.
THE REVIEW PROCESS
The review process will be based on feedback from Members of Council and the other parts
of the governance and representative structure, the Chief Executive & General Secretary;
Executive Team and Board Secretaries.
It will include:
A review of the performance of the Council and Council Committees against their terms of reference
and role descriptors and to assess how well the organisation is meeting its charter objectives
A skills self-assessment by the Members of Council and the other parts of the governance and
representative structure, the Chief Executive & General Secretary; Executive Team and Board
Secretaries to identify any gaps
There will also be a number of focus groups involving key stakeholders to inform the review.
25
APPENDIX F
APPENDIX F: EVIDENCE TABLE
Sources of evidence
Theme
Role of council
members
Findings 2 & 8
Recruitment of
council members
Findings 2,3 & 7
Member and lay
member input
Finding 6
Council structures
Findings 2 & 3
Strategy and
functions
of council
Finding 3
Issue
Desk top
review
Member
interviews
Skills and competencies of council members to govern effectively
0
2
Continuous development and review
0
3
High time commitment required from council members
1
3
Accessibility of council meetings for members
0
2
Respect and relationships between council members
0
1
Council member use of facility time
0
1
Role of honorary nurse treasurer*
1
1
Equality and inclusion of Council
2
2
Barriers to people becoming council members
0
2
How to recruit to council
0
2
Eligibility of who can apply
0
1
Succession planning of council members
0
2
Clarity of lay member role
0
1
The value of council receiving external advice
0
1
Role of external advisers in relation to council
1
1
Contribution of member expertise
0
2
Nurse members-only on council
0
1
Current council and committee structures unclear or duplicated
3
2
Number of council members
0
2
Decision making delayed by committee structure
2
2
Decision making reactive, not proactive
2
2
Identifying and acting on strategic risks
3
2
Strategic leadership*
0
0
Monitoring and accountability*
1
0
Devolution across
four countries
Finding 1
Too much focus on England-only issues
1
1
Unclear where England-specific policy decisions are taken
0
0
Should be an England Board
0
0
Visibility of council across the 4 countries
0
2
CEO, ET and
Council Finding 9
Clarity of relationship between CEO, Executive Team and council
1
1
Limited visibility of tripartite leadership
0
1
Council needs greater commercial focus
1
1
Income too dependent on member subscriptions
0
0
Too much focus on NHS
0
0
Needs to take into account changing workplaces
0
2
Identity of RCN as trade union and professional body
2
2
Need greater visibility of professional arm of the RCN
2
0
Clarity of council’s relationship with RCN subsidiaries
1
0
Build on success of RCN Foundation
0
0
Sustainability of
RCN
Finding 1
Commercial focus
referred to Council
RCN’s dual role
Findings 2, 3 & 4
Subsidiaries
Finding 10
26
* additional issues added during analysis of individual evidence streams
APPENDIX F
Analysis based on social research methodologies used to analyse multiple qualitative data sources • Nine data sets (Council
member survey, staff interviews, meeting observations etc) analysed individually to determine strength of evidence supporting each
issue • Each data set given equal weighting • Interpretation across all data sets determined whether evidence supporting each issue
is ‘Substantial’, ‘Significant’, ‘Limited’ providing evidence or ‘Unsubstantiated’, based on the number and strength of data sources
Staff
Interviews
Council
Observation
member
of meetings
survey
Stakeholder
Member
perceptions
survey
audit
Board and
council /
committee
feedback
Strength Overall
of
evidence
evidence rating
3
3
3
3
0
3
3
74%
Substantial
0
3
3
2
0
2
3
59%
Substantial
0
1
0
0
0
2
3
37%
Significant
3
0
1
3
0
3
3
56%
Substantial
0
2
3
3
0
1
2
44%
Significant
0
1
0
0
0
2
1
19%
Limited
2
2
3
1
0
0
0
37%
Significant
0
2
2
3
0
3
3
63%
Substantial
0
2
0
2
0
3
3
44%
Significant
0
2
0
0
0
3
3
37%
Significant
0
2
0
0
0
3
2
30%
Significant
1
2
0
0
0
3
3
41%
Significant
3
2
0
0
0
2
0
30%
Significant
3
2
2
0
3
2
2
56%
Substantial
3
2
1
0
3
2
0
48%
Significant
3
2
3
0
0
2
3
56%
Substantial
3
2
0
0
0
2
0
30%
Significant
3
3
2
1
0
3
3
74%
Substantial
0
3
2
0
3
0
2
44%
Significant
2
2
3
0
0
2
2
56%
Substantial
2
2
0
0
0
2
2
44%
Significant
2
1
2
3
0
0
1
52%
Substantial
2
0
2
3
3
1
1
44%
Significant
2
0
3
3
3
0
2
52%
Substantial
0
2
2
0
0
2
2
37%
Significant
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
11%
Limited
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
7%
Limited
2
2
0
3
0
3
1
48%
Significant
2
3
2
0
3
2
1
56%
Substantial
0
2
0
0
3
2
1
33%
Significant
2
2
1
0
0
0
1
30%
Significant
0
1
1
0
0
3
1
22%
Limited
0
0
1
1
3
3
3
41%
Significant
0
0
1
0
3
3
3
44%
Significant
2
3
0
3
3
3
3
78%
Substantial
2
3
1
0
3
3
3
63%
Substantial
3
2
2
0
0
0
1
33%
Significant
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
7%
Limited
External
adviser
interviews
27
APPENDIX G
APPENDIX G:
THE PROPOSED NEW GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND ELECTION PROCESS
COUNCIL
AUDIT
BOARDS
REMUNERATION
GOVERNANCE
MRC
28
NPPC
BUSINESS
APPENDIX G
Roles
Who can stand
Who can vote (if election) Process
Council members –
country and regional (12)
Nurse members in
the relevant country
and regions
Nurse members in the
relevant country and
regions
Election –
under TULRCA rules
Council members –
student (1)
Student members
All student members
Election –
under TULRCA rules
Council members –
HP (1)
HP members
All HP members
Election –
under TULRCA rules
Board members
Any member from
country/region
All members in
country/region
Election
Board chairs
Members of the board
from the country/region
including the
Council member
The board members
Election
Board vice chair
Members of the board
from the country/region
including the
Council member
The board members
Election
Chair and VC of Council
Nurse members of Council
(excluding President,
Deputy President and
Chair of Congress)
Council (excluding
Chair/of Congress)
Election
Nurse members with
relevant experience
and skills
Nurse members in
country/region
Student and HP members
Student and HP members
Nurse members with
relevant experience
and skills
Nurse members
Student and HP members
Student and HP members
Members of MRC (12)
Student and HP members
of MRC (1 each)
Members of NPPC (12)
Student and HP
members of MRC (1 each)
Election
Election
All members with relevant
Members of Business,
Audit, Governance Support experience and skills
n/a
Council-led
appointment process
Chairs of MRC, NPPC,
Business (& Hon Treas),
Governance Support
Members of Council
Members of Council
Election
Vice Chairs of MRC,
NPPC, Business,
Governance Support
Members of relevant
committee
Members of
relevant committee
Election
Advisers to Business,
External
Audit, Governance Support
n/a
Council-led
appointment process
Chair of Audit
n/a
Council-led
appointment process
External
NOTES
The RCN represents nurses and nursing, promotes
excellence in practice and shapes health policies
April 2016
Publication code: 005 501
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