The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7318 p445
25 September 2004

Society summary

Council agrees that draft Charter should go forward to Privy Council

The Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has agreed that its preferred draft new Charter for the Society should go forward for final consideration by Her Majesty in Council.

The draft will be accompanied by comments on amendments made to the Charter by the Privy Council’s advisers. The comments include an objection to amending Article 9(2) so that the new Council would not have a specific power to decide that certain decisions may be made only by Special Resolution (ie, with the approval of the membership at a general meeting or in a ballot). The comments also include an expression of hope that the process by which a pharmacy schools representative is appointed to the Council will reflect the election of other pharmacy representatives.

At its special September Council meeting, the Council considered the draft Charter once again in the light of the outcome of the membership ballot and the amendments by the Privy Council’s advisers — who are civil servants from the health departments for England, Scotland and Wales.

The Council began by welcoming the outcome of the ballot on its preferred draft new Charter, which found favour with 84.4 per cent of pharmacists who voted. The Council also had before it a summary of the 19 responses made following its invitation to comment on the draft Charter. The Council then went on to consider in detail each of the amendments made by the Privy Council’s advisers (see separate reports, pp446–448).

After the Council had completed its consideration of the amendments required by the Privy Council’s advisers, Graham Phillips said that the Council had given a commitment to the membership to take into account the comments made during the ballot process back. By what mechanism would it do that?

The President said that Council members had had the comments to look at and he assumed that they had taken them into consideration in the decisions they had just made.

Mrs Stone reminded Council members that they had agreed to receive and note any comments made by the membership but that it was understood that they would not be able to act on those comments.

Mr Phillips said that his understanding was that the Council would accept minor typographical changes, matters of punctuation and so forth.

The President said that such issues would go forward from the office to the Privy Council. The Council did not need to debate typographical errors. What it needed to do was to take a vote on the overall Charter.

Douglas Simpson suggested that such a vote would be unhelpful. The Council had given its views on the amendments made by the Privy Council’s advisers.

The Secretary and Registrar said that the Council had written to the Privy Council after the June meeting with a request that there be further consideration. A Council resolution was probably needed so that the draft Charter could now go forward for consideration by Her Majesty in Council.

The President said that there was a motion “that the draft Charter should now go forward for consideration by Her Majesty in Council”. It would be accompanied by the Council’s comments.

Maurice Hickey proposed that the decision should be deferred to the October Council meeting, to allow consultation with the Privy Council on the Council’s concerns.

After debate, Mr Hickey’s motion was put to the vote and was lost.

The President then put the motion that the draft Charter should go forward for consideration by Her Majesty in Council, along with the Council’s comments.

The motion was carried by 16 votes to three, with one abstention. Those voting for the motion were the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer, Gerald Alexander, Shiv Bagga, Davan Eustace, Alison Ewing, Christine Glover, Gill Hawksworth, Maurice Hickey, Patricia Hoare, Clive Jackson, Bob Michell, Michael Schofield, Douglas Simpson and Linda Stone. Those voting against the motion were Martin Astbury, Sultan Dajani and Graham Phillips. Hassan Argomandkhah abstained.

The President said that the Council had made a historic decision after a difficult and divisive debate. He was pleased that, despite the difficulties, the debate had ended with a significant degree of unanimity.

Dr Hawksworth said that many people had worked long and hard and there had been sacrifices on the way. The final thread of the tapestry was in place and the long-term future of the profession was finally secured. She wished to place on record her thanks to all concerned.