| The consultation process for the new Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
Order (under Section 60 of the Health Act 1999) is already under way.
But how does the Order fit in with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s
existing governing documents? And what kind of power does it offer?
People wishing to respond to the draft Order may be concerned that the
document offers little in the way of detail and be wondering why it is
so broad. This is because much of the detail is to be within a set of
Rules, consultation on which is expected to begin in the summer.
Christine Gray, head of corporate governance at the Society, explains: “Like
the Royal Charter, the Order is a top-level document that sets out what
the Society can and must do, but with a minimum of detail. Exactly how
these things are carried out will be laid out in Rules under the Order,
or Regulations under the Charter.
“The advantage of this approach is flexibility since it is far easier
to change a Rule or a Regulation than to amend a Section 60 Order or
a Charter,” she says.
How new Rules and Regulations will replace the Society’s existing
Byelaws |
Order and Charter
So how will the Order differ from the Society’s Royal Charter,
which came into effect in 2004? The Charter exists to deal with the functions
of the Society as a professional body and how the Society is organised
internally — for example, structures to reflect Scottish and Welsh
devolution.
The Order, on the other hand, is concerned with statutory requirements
that the Society is obligated to fulfil. Registration, education prerequisites,
standard setting and fitness to practise are among the essential elements
of the Order, and the new Rules will provide specifics about how the
Society will perform its statutory functions. Byelaws superseded
Until now the Society has operated with a set of Byelaws, which have
been made under power provided by either legislation (Pharmacy Act
1954) or the Charter. However, because it is sometimes unclear where
the authority for a given section of the Byelaws comes from, there
has been confusion, not to mention legal implications.
“Under the Society’s new main governing documents — the
2004 Charter and the forthcoming legislation — the terminology will
be different and, hopefully, much clearer,” says Ms Gray.
The existing Byelaws will be superseded by Rules, referring specifically
to requirements of the new Order, and Regulations, written to support
the goals of the Charter.
“The process of developing and writing the Society’s new Regulations
is being carried out at the moment,” Ms Gray adds. “It is
a rolling programme to replace those old Byelaws which correspond to
sections of the new Charter. All the Regulations will be consulted upon
before they are finalised.” Making the Rules
The Order sets out definite, but broad, statutory requirements enabling
the Society to regulate the professions. The Society will progressively
draft a set of Rules providing specifics as to exactly how it can and
will uphold the obligations set out in the Order.
For example, the Order instructs the Society to set up a health committee
to deal with cases where someone’s fitness to practise may be impaired
because of ill-health and gives the committee powers to impose conditions
or suspend registration if necessary. The Rules for that committee will
dictate its size and composition, how to appoint and remove its members
and its procedures.
Any new Rule drafted by the Society — or any subsequent amendment
to an existing Rule — will be put forward for consultation and
then submitted for Privy Council approval. The Privy Council, in considering
a submission, will decide whether the Rule is suitable and applicable
to the new Order, and take into account any response to the consultation.
The formal approval processes for the new Rules will not begin until
the Section 60 Order consultation has ended and the Order has come into
force, but the Society will be consulting on some of the draft Rules
before that stage. “The Council and staff are working hard on the
Rules at the moment, based on what has been laid out in the draft Section
60 document,” says Ms Gray.
According to the Society, some Rules may be made at a later stage, in
which case certain sections of the Order would come into force at a later
date.
The Society must consult on and obtain Privy Council authorisation for
the creation or amendment of all Rules, but with one exception — those
relating solely to registration fees.
An issue likely to concern the Society membership is that Article 66(4)
of the draft Order contains an exemption, which allows Rules concerning
registration fees to be changed without Privy Council approval.
Ms Gray comments: “It seems likely that provisions relating to
fees will be linked to other sets of Rules, or be part of the registration
Rules as a whole, amendments of which do require sign-off by the Privy
Council.”
The Society expects that the new Rules and Regulations will offer a consistency
of style and terminology and much-needed clarity of the derivation of
the Society’s powers that the soon-to-be-obsolete Byelaws did not. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal