SOS group challenges Society over consultation
A call has been issued to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to follow regulatory principles set out by a Government task force as the Society seeks to replace its Royal Charter. The Society believes, however, that it has fulfilled its obligations.
In an open letter to the Society’s President, Dr Gill Hawksworth,
six members of the Save Our Society campaign, including two former members
of the Society’s council, say that the consultation process leading
up to the application for a new royal Charter should comply with better
regulation principles.
In particular, the SOS representatives are concerned that the Society
should adhere to four consultation principles set out in the Better
Regulation Task Force report on independent regulators (PJ, 25 October, p569). The
four principles are:
• Policy objectives should be clearly defined and effectively communicated
• Effective consultation should take place before proposals are developed
• Consultation should last for 12 weeks
• Regulations should be clear and simple and guidance should be issued
12 weeks before they take effect
The writers of the open letter — Hassan Argomandkhah, Anthony Cox,
Maurice Hickey, Mark Koziol, Gavin Miller and Graham Phillips — are
particularly concerned that the Society has given its members only five
weeks to comment on the revised draft Charter. They are further concerned
that the draft refers to a Health Act 1999 Section 60 Order which has
not been published. They say that the time frame allowed for the consultation
is unacceptable.
“There is no doubt that currently, the Society’s programme
for consultation on this draft Charter is, in a number of important respects,
wholly at
odds with the principles of regulation as defined by government,” the
open letter says. “As such it makes any recommendations that the
Society may subsequently make to government vulnerable to challenge.”
Ann Lewis, Secretary and Registrar, said: “We have been consulting
with the members on the new Charter since March this year.”
She added that the Society’s Council had considered feedback from
that consultation carefully and was now giving an additional opportunity
to comment further to help inform the Council’s final decisions.
The further consultation on the revised draft Charter is brief so that
the Society’s views could be passed to the Government before it
produced its draft legislation. A notice will be published in the London
Gazette (an official newspaper of record) once the petition for a new
Charter has been submitted to the Privy Council. Views can be sent direct
to the Privy Council at that stage.
Miss Lewis pointed out that the task force report allows for shorter
consultation on changes made after consultation on initial proposals.
When the Government publishes its draft Section 60 Order it will be open
to three months’ public consultation. |
