Council announces review of the Society to meet needs of devolution
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is to conduct a broad review of its function, structure and ways of working of the Society to ensure that the organisation can meet the needs of devolution.
The reviews, announced at the February
Council meeting, will cover a
range of issues, including:
• A framework for the devolution of functions within a Britain-wide
organisation
• Requirements for governance and accountability
• The scope, role of and the structures and processes for policy-making
• The structure and function of the Society’s Scottish Department
and Welsh Executive and their relationships with the Council and the
directorates
The review will be undertaken by a steering group led by Lord Fraser
of Carmyllie, who is chairman of the Society’s Statutory Committee.
The group will include the current chairmen and vice-chairmen of the
Scottish Department and the Welsh Executive, members of Council, the
Secretary and Registrar and a constitutional specialist with expertise
in devolution.
The steering group will complete its report in late 2004. It will form
part of the Society’s strategy and business planning programme.
David Thomson, chairman of the Scottish Executive, said: “I warmly
welcome this as an important development. The overriding framework should
accommodate the impact of devolution as a whole, consider the specific
implications for Scotland and Wales and provide flexibility for the organisation
to take full advantage of the unique opportunities that devolution offers.”
Andrea Robinson, chairman of the Society’s Welsh Executive, said: “Future
arrangements for the governance of the Society have been set out in the
proposals to Government for a Section 60 order and in the proposed supplemental
Charter. It is now necessary to consider a framework to reflect devolution
including a review of function, structures and ways of working and its
impact across Great Britain.
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