The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7309 p128
24 July 2004

Society summary

Related websites
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Charter ballot questions and answers

By now, pharmacists should have received their voting papers for the ballot on the new draft Charter proposed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Council. The Society’s President, Nicholas Wood, answers some questions

Why should I bother to vote? Because this time you really do have the final say on whether this draft progresses any further. A new Charter comes less than once a generation and it is vital that everyone plays their part in approving it.

Unlike those of other bodies, our Charter gives us autonomy and flexibility and we are not restricted to the functions set down in our legislation. However, the Government will not leave reform to chance. There is a risk that, if the Charter is not revised and appears out of step with public expectations, it will effectively be overwritten by the forthcoming legislation under Section 60 of the Health Act 1999.

The Council has worked hard as a team to get the new draft Charter right. Now it is your turn — if you do not give us a clear message of approval, the amendments will not go forward and the Charter petition will be withdrawn. The worst thing you could do is sit back and leave it for others to decide. We cannot presume that your silence means consent — we need you to show your approval, or otherwise, with your vote.

Is this a vote or a consultation? This is a vote; we are not conducting another consultation. We have already consulted extensively with the membership and others, and the most recent changes have very much been made in response to the members’ expressed concerns.

Nevertheless, some members may have questions or points to make about the revised draft Charter. We have set up a dedicated e-mail address for these and will aim to respond to any questions we receive within 10 days.

The points made by members on the draft Charter will be reported to the Council in September 2004. The Council will obviously be glad to hear about any typographical errors or technical issues, and it will also have to consider any amendments that may be required by the Privy Council, should the draft meet with the members’ approval. Otherwise, the draft you receive with your ballot papers should be considered as final and the decision as to whether or not it should go forward to the Privy Council is yours.

What will happen if the Charter ballot vote is “no”? Will the Council produce another draft? Theoretically, after a “no” vote the Council could redraft the Charter and begin the lengthy process of petitioning again, but it would have lost the opportunity to progress the draft Charter in parallel with the legislation. There is a huge benefit in having these twin pillars of our governance — Charter and legislation — developed in a complementary way and there is a risk that, if the Charter is not revised, it will be over-written by the forthcoming legislation. We are fortunate in that delays to progress on the new legislation within the Department of Health have given the Society’s Council a small window of opportunity within which to reconsider the draft Charter.

If the membership approves the new draft then the Council will ask the Privy Council to consider this under the current petition. However, since the members’ decision in the ballot is final, if a majority vote “no” then the petition for a new Charter that is currently with the Privy Council will be withdrawn.

Is the Council involving the branches in all this? The development of the new Charter has involved a great deal of activity within the branches and regions and I have written personally to all branch and regional secretaries thanking them for their involvement, input and effort to date. I appreciate that the ballot schedule leaves little time for branches and regions to get together but we have offered to provide speakers in case any branches already have a meeting planned during the ballot period and would like someone to come along to talk about the new Charter.