Council election procedures
The Society’s Council has decided that its policy in relation
to Council elections should be published each year to enable the membership,
in particular
candidates in the election, to be fully aware of the Council’s current
views on the matter.
Canvassing The previous restrictions on canvassing were designed to
give candidates an equal opportunity of presenting their views to the
membership. However, some felt that the restrictions gave an unfair advantage
to existing members of Council and other well-known candidates. Other
bodies do not commonly apply canvassing restrictions to their elections.
Furthermore, with the growth of internet use, restrictions on canvassing
have become increasingly hard to enforce. The Council feels that the
electorate is capable of assessing the merits of candidates and that
excessive or negative campaigning is unlikely to advance the cause of
those who indulge in it. As a result, the Council has decided that the
former restrictions on canvassing should not apply to candidates for
election to the reformed Council. Further guidance on publicity is given
below.
Nominations Nominators should be persons eligible to vote for the candidate
they are nominating. However, nominators are no longer required to be
from the same branch as the candidate. In other words, a candidate for
one of the pharmacist places not reserved to a national constituency
must be nominated by 10 pharmacists from any branch. A candidate for
one of the three pharmacist places reserved to a national constituency
must be nominated by 10 pharmacists whose registered addresses are within
that constituency (from any branch). This year, pharmacy technician candidates
will be self-nominated. In future elections, a pharmacy technician candidate
should be nominated by five pharmacy technicians.
A prospective candidate may not be one of the nominators for his or her own
candidature.
Nominators are expected to have some personal knowledge of the prospective
nominee and to be reasonably satisfied that he or she is suitable to serve
as a member of the Council. A nominator may not withdraw his nomination of
a prospective candidate once made.
Biographical details and declaration of relevant interests Biographical details
will be standardised under the following headings. Items marked with an asterisk
(*) are obligatory: (a) name and town*; (b) age*; (c) year of registration;
(d) academic qualifications; (e) civil honours; (f) professional awards; (g)
current positions held*;(h) previous positions held (with dates)*. Both (g)
and (h) are subdivided as follows: (i) occupation — branch of pharmacy
and position held*; (ii) public service positions*; (iii) positions held as
an officer or member of the governing body or committee of a pharmaceutical
organisation, including a branch or region of the Society*; (iv) positions
held as an officer or member of the governing body or committee of any organisation
associated with health or healthcare, science or pharmaceutical education.*
Candidates, if they wish, may make further reference to their history or experience
in their election statements.
Candidates are also required to declare any relevant interests not given in
the biographical details above, under the following headings. All items are
obligatory:
(a) employment — list full- and part-time employment,
giving details of employer and nature of duties, including paid directorships
of companies
(public or private); full-time paid employment, part-time paid employment;
(b)
offices held — list offices held for which
you are paid and, where this includes membership of any other health care organisation,
indicate the
nature of such membership and any office held;
(c) other paid activity — include
consultancies, self-employed work (contract work), and contributions to professional
and scientific publications for which you are paid;
(d) sponsorship — include
any awards, sponsorship, bursaries, grants for research, etc;
(e) unpaid activity — include
membership of organisations, committees etc not listed above;
(f) family interests — list
any financial interests of yourself or close family members that might be considered
relevant to your position as a member of Council;
(g) beneficial interests
in shareholdings — list the names of companies or other bodies in which
a Council member has, either on his or her own behalf or on behalf of a spouse
or infant children, a beneficial interest in shareholding of a nominal value
greater than one-hundredth of the issued share capital.
The biographical details and declaration of interests and election statement,
when put together, should not exceed 630 words in total.
Eligibility criteria Candidates for election to the Council must be:
(i) members of the Society or registered technicians, if applicable,
on the practising part (Part 1) of the relevant register, who are normally
resident in Great Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands; (ii)
eligible to serve as a charity trustee. Those specified by the Charities
Act 1993 as being ineligible to act as trustees include: anyone who has
been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or deception (excluding
a conviction which is spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act 1974); anyone who has been adjudged bankrupt or where sequestration
of his estate has been awarded and (in either case) he has not been discharged
(except where leave to act as the director of the charity has been granted
under Section 11 of the Company Directors’ Disqualification Act
1986); anyone who has made a composition or arrangement with, or granted
a trust deed for, his creditors and has not been discharged in respect
of it; anyone who has been removed from office as a trustee by order
of the Commissioners or the High Court; anyone who has been removed by
the Court of Session in Scotland from being concerned in the management
or control of any body; anyone subject to a disqualification order or
undertaking under the Company Directors’ Disqualification Act 1986,
or a disqualification order under equivalent Northern Ireland legislation,
or an order under the Insolvency Act 1986 for failure to pay a county
court administration order (except where leave has been granted under
section 11 of the CDDA 1986, or the equivalent provision in NI, or Section
429 of the Insolvency Act 1986 as appropriate).
Although the Society has not previously included eligibility to serve as a
charity trustee among the requirements for Council candidates, it has previously
been implicit that a person who is disqualified from being a charity trustee
is ineligible because members of Council are trustees of the Society’s
charitable funds (and the purported appointment of such a person would actually
be void). It is a criminal offence to serve as a trustee when disqualified
from doing so.
No person shall be eligible for election to the Council if he or she has failed
to pay by the date and time fixed for the return of nomination forms any retention
fee or penalty then due and payable by him or her to the Society.
No person may be elected as a member of Council for more than three consecutive
terms of office, each of up to three years. No person who has served as a member
of the Council for three consecutive terms of office shall be eligible for
re-election until a period of three years after leaving office has expired.
Any member of the Council elected in the first election to the reformed Council
(2005) who has served six or more consecutive years on the Council immediately
before that election shall be eligible to serve only one consecutive term from
the date when the new Council takes office.
Any member of the Council elected in the first election who has served less
than six consecutive years on the Council immediately prior to that date shall
be eligible to serve three consecutive terms from the date when the new Council
takes office.
Three places on Council are reserved for pharmacists who are normally resident
in each of three national constituencies: England, the Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands; Scotland; and Wales.
Pharmacists filling these reserved places shall be elected by ballot of pharmacists
whose addresses in the Register are in the relevant national constituency.
A pharmacist shall only be eligible for election in a national constituency
if he or she is normally resident in that constituency.
A pharmacist may be nominated as a candidate in a national constituency and
as a candidate for election to any place on the Council not reserved to a national
constituency in the same election. In such a case, the candidate receiving
the highest number of votes in a national constituency shall be deemed to have
been elected in that constituency and any votes he or she has received in respect
of a place on the Council not reserved to a national constituency in the same
election shall be void.
In the 2005 election, the three pharmacists elected in national constituencies
and the three pharmacists elected with the highest numbers of votes to places
on the Council not reserved to a national constituency shall be elected for
a period of three years. The six pharmacists elected with the next highest
numbers of votes to unreserved places on the Council shall serve for two years.
The remaining five elected pharmacists shall serve for one year. Of the first
pharmacy technician members, the one elected with the highest numbers of votes
shall serve for three years and the other shall serve for two years.
Election statements Candidates’ election statements will continue
to be sent direct to each voter with the voting papers, thereby allowing
candidates the maximum freedom of expression. The Council considers that
this is the most practical method of presenting to the electorate the
views of each candidate.
The election statement, biographical details and declaration of relevant interests
(see item 3 above) when put together should not exceed 630 words in total.
The Returning Officer shall not be required to publish an election statement
of a length greater than that specified or to publish anything that in the
Returning Officer’s opinion may be libellous or untrue in matters of
fact. The Returning Officer may in consultation with the candidate issue a
statement of clarification if in his or her opinion any part of an election
statement refers to matters outside the current functions, powers and duties
of the Society.
Provision 11 of the Council Code of Conduct states that “Members of Council
should support in public the policies of the Council. Where a member of Council
feels compelled publicly to oppose a Council policy, the Council should be
informed in advance. The member of Council may then express his or her personal
views on the matter but, in so doing, must first explain the Council policy
and the reasons for the Council’s decision. Members must in any case
avoid any action that would undermine confidence in the competence of the Council
and its members or in the Council’s decision-making process.”
An exception to this provision is made solely in the case of the election statement
of a Council member who is standing for re-election to the Council. The Council
decided in September 2004 that a Council member should be able to express his
or her personal views in the election statement without first having to explain
the Council’s policy and the reasons for the Council’s decision.
A Council member would still be bound by the requirement to avoid any action
that would undermine confidence in the competence of the Council and its members
or in the Council’s decision-making process.
Adverse decisions The Council’s view is that declaration of adverse
decisions is in keeping with principles of transparency and probity but
that declaration of allegations or pending investigations should not
be required.
Candidates for election to the Council are therefore required to sign a declaration
(included in the papers provided to candidates) stating either that they have
not been the subject of any adverse decisions that might be relevant to membership
of the Council or, if appropriate, stating that they have been the subject
of such a decision or decisions and that they are providing details of these
with the declaration, under the following headings: (a) whether or not they
have ever been the subject of an adverse finding by any final determining fitness
to practise committee (including health) of any regulatory body in the UK or
overseas and, if so, the terms of the finding or voluntary restriction, the
committee’s direction and the date of the finding or period to which
the restriction applied; (b) whether or not they have ever been convicted of
a criminal offence excluding convictions spent for the purpose of the Rehabilitation
of Offenders Act 1974 (the term “criminal convictions” does not
include offences that have incurred cautions, fixed penalties such as speeding
or parking fines, or absolute discharges); (c) any other adverse decisions
that might be relevant to membership of the Council. No list of relevant adverse
decisions could be considered comprehensive and the onus is on the candidate
to exercise judgement. The candidate will bear any consequence of being found
not to have declared a relevant adverse decision. Candidates who are unsure
whether an adverse decision might or might not be relevant should ask the Registrar.
This information will be published with the voting papers. Information given
under heading (c) above will be published at the Registrar’s discretion.
If any member of Council is the subject of any investigations or proceedings
against him or her by any UK or overseas regulatory authority or public body,
or is charged with a criminal offence, he or she must inform the President
promptly and in writing. It is intended that the Council shall be empowered
to decide whether the member of Council should be suspended from any Council
office, including Council membership, and that it may also do so as a neutral
interim action while the investigation or proceedings are under way.
Information and assistance The Society does not seek to influence the
election of Council members. Beyond the dissemination of the biographical
details and declaration of relevant interests, election statement and
declaration of adverse decisions with the voting papers, and provision
of a private area on the Society’s website to facilitate any necessary
contact with travelling candidates, the Society will provide no information
or assistance to election candidates over and above what it would normally
provide to any member in fulfilment of its statutory and chartered duties.
Publicity: Contributions to The Pharmaceutical Journal The
following reflects the principle of equal coverage being made available
to all
candidates, should they wish to avail themselves of it:
(i) candidates
are expected to send no more than two letters, of which each must be
on a different topic, for inclusion in The Journal, from the
date that nominations are closed to the final date for the return of
voting papers
to Electoral Reform Services;
(ii) The Journal will consider a maximum
of two letters from each candidate for inclusion in issues dating from
the publication of the nominations to the final date for the return of
voting papers to Electoral Reform Services;
(iii) each letter must be
no longer than 400 words;
(iv) letters must be about issues, not personalities
and should not criticise other candidates negatively (material that contravenes
the above will be amended or removed);
(v) the editor reserves the right
to remove or amend material, or refuse publication outright, at his or
her discretion;
(vi) The Journal will not publish articles of any sort
from candidates during the election period, unless they are part of a
commissioned series or planned some time in advance or otherwise commissioned
at the editor’s discretion;
(vii) candidates are expected not to
submit paid advertisements relating to their candidacy for inclusion
in The Journal from the date that nominations are closed to
the final date for return of voting papers to Electoral Reform Services
and any
such advertisements received from known candidates will not be published
during this period;
(viii) Contributions to The Pharmaceutical Journal on behalf of candidates will be treated in the same manner as contributions
from candidates themselves.
Publicity: Contributions to other publications or forums, including
internet sites or discussion groups, branch or regional newsletters,
house or member organisation magazines The previous restrictions no longer
apply. It is expected that anything written by, on behalf of or about
candidates should not be libellous or untrue in matters of fact. Candidates
are asked to refrain from negative campaigning.
Candidates should bear in mind that, under both the pharmacists’ and
the pharmacy technicians’ Code of Ethics, they are required to behave
with integrity and honesty, to adhere to accepted standards of personal and
professional conduct and not to engage in any behaviour or activity likely
to bring the profession into disrepute or undermine public confidence in the
profession.
Discontinuation of the three questions to candidates The Council no
longer invites the editors of The Pharmaceutical Journal and other pharmaceutical
publications to pose up to three questions to election candidates in
every election. Editors may at their discretion maintain the tradition,
or resume it for a particular election. The Council’s former decision
to invite the questions originated from the expectation that questions
of interest to the profession would regularly arise after the preparation
of the candidates’ election statements. In fact, such questions
do not often arise in the relatively short time between the preparation
of the election statements and the mailing of the voting papers. Candidates
for election to the reformed Council will in any case have the chance
to comment on topical issues in letters pages (subject to the above restrictions
relating to The Pharmaceutical Journal) over the election period.
Should an editor or editors choose to pose the questions, they are asked in
the interests of fairness to ensure that all candidates are given the opportunity
to respond to the questions and that the length of the responses be restricted.
The Society no longer forwards questions to candidates as it has done in the
past. Editors may send questions to candidates direct at their registered addresses;
it is for the candidates to ensure that adequate forwarding arrangements are
in place for mail where necessary. However, editors are encouraged to notify
the Society of their intention to pose questions to the candidates and where
they have done so notification to this effect will be posted on a candidates’ private
area on the Society’s website. Travelling candidates with no access to
their mail are encouraged to visit this page on a regular basis (password access
can be obtained from the office).
Sponsorship and election expenditure The Council has decided not to
place any specific restrictions on sponsorship or election expenditure.
Any use of sponsorship should, however, be in keeping with the requirements
of the pharmacists’ and pharmacy technicians’ respective
Codes of Ethics.
Hustings The Council does not object to outside organisations or Society
regions or branches arranging hustings events, if they so wish, provided
all candidates are given an equal opportunity to present their views.
There will be no restriction on the reporting of hustings events by the
pharmacy media. It may be difficult for all candidates to attend such
meetings. The Council considers that if a candidate cannot attend, he
or she should have an opportunity of submitting a statement, equal in
length to the opening statements of candidates who are able to attend,
to be read by the Chairman or some other appropriate person.
Ann Lewis
Secretary and Registrar |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal