South East Scotland Faculty

Name and area of the faculty

1. The name of the Faculty shall be East Scotland Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The area of the Faculty shall include Tayside and North Fife.

Any change in the name of or the area covered by the East Scotland Faculty shall be determined by the Council of the College after consultation with the Board of the East Scotland Faculty and with those of neighbouring Faculties.

Aims and objectives of the east scotland faculty

2. The East Scotland Faculty represents the Royal College of General Practitioners in the area of Tayside and North Fife. Its aims and objectives are identical with the aims and objectives of the College. The East Scotland Faculty shall be bound by, and adhere to, the Royal Charter, the Ordinances and Bye-laws of the College for the time being in force.

Membership of the faculty

3. The members and associates of the East Scotland Faculty shall (subject to transfers) be those members and associates of the College whose registered addresses are within the area of the East Scotland Faculty. Any member or associate of one Faculty may, upon application, be transferred to another Faculty.

Rights of faculty members and associates

4. (A) Members of the East Scotland Faculty shall be entitled to receive all notices sent out by the Faculty, to attend, speak and vote at any General Meeting, and generally to participate in the activities of the Faculty.
(B) Associates of the East Scotland Faculty shall be entitled to receive all general notices sent out by the Faculty, to attend any meeting of the East Scotland Faculty, and generally to participate in any activities of the East Scotland Faculty; but they shall not be entitled to vote at a meeting of a Faculty, except upon the election of associates to the Board of the Faculty. Associates appointed to the Board or any committee shall be entitled to vote at meetings of the Board of such committee.

Meetings of the faculty

5. (A) Meetings of the Faculty, for which all members and associates of the Faculty must receive notice, shall be (i) Annual General, (ii) General, and (iii) Extraordinary General. The Quorum of any general meeting of the Faculty shall be a minimum of six. If within 15 minutes of the time appointed for the beginning of the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be abandoned. In the case of the Annual General Meeting, if a quorum is not present, the Board may make such decisions as are considered necessary for the continued functioning of the Faculty.

(i) Annual General Meetings. These meetings shall be held each Faculty year (defined for this purpose as running from 1st November in one year to the next following 30th October). Not more than fifteen months shall elapse between any two Annual General Meetings of the Faculty. At least twenty one days notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be given in writing to each member and associate of the Faculty. Such notice shall include the date, time and place of the meeting, and the agenda.
The business at the Annual General Meeting shall be:
(a) To receive, amend if necessary, and confirm the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting.
(b) To receive the Annual Report of the retiring Board.
(c) To receive the Faculty Annual Financial Return and such additional financial statements as the College Council may have determined.
(d) To elect a Provost of the Faculty, who shall not normally hold this office for more than three years in succession and who shall be nominated and elected annually.
(e) To elect a new Faculty Board.
(f) To propose amendments to the Faculty Bye-laws if necessary.
(g) To transact any other business of the Faculty.
The usual method of recording votes at a meeting shall be by a show of hands. The Chairman may appoint two or more members as tellers. In the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a casting vote. In any matter of dispute the Chairman’s ruling shall be final.

(ii) General Meetings. These shall be held when and where they are called by the Board. At least fourteen days’ notice of such General Meetings shall be given to each member and associate of the Faculty. The business shall be set forth in the notice convening the meeting, and it may include clinical or other medical discussions.

(iii) Extraordinary General Meetings. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called at any time by the Honorary Secretary of the Faculty of the Board on the instructions of the Faculty of the Board, or by the Honorary Secretary within twenty-eight days of the receipt by him of a written requisition signed by not less than ten members of the Faculty, or by one-third of the Faculty membership, whichever is the less, and stating the exact terms of the resolution(s) to be proposed. At least fourteen days’ notice of such a meeting shall be given to every member and associate of the Faculty and such notice shall state the business of the meeting, and exact terms of the resolutions to be proposed. A resolution at any Extraordinary General Meeting shall be passed only if voted for by a majority of not less than three-quarters of those present and voting. No business shall be transacted by an Extraordinary General Meeting other than that which it may have been specifically called to consider.

(B) The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to any member or associate of the Faculty shall not invalidate the proceedings at the meeting.
(C) At all meetings of the Faculty 15 shall be the quorum.

The board of the faculty

6. The management of the affairs of the Faculty shall be vested in a Board, composed of the following:
(A) Members of the Board of the Faculty
(i) Ex-officio members.
(a) The Provost of the Faculty.
(b) Those members of the College Council and members of the Scottish Council, Irish Council or Welsh Council or an Overseas Council who are members of the Faculty.
(c) The immediate Past-Chairman of the Board of the Faculty.

(ii) Members
(a) A minimum of seven and a maximum of twenty-five members of the Faculty to be elected by the Faculty as determined in the Faculty’s Bye-laws, with, where possible, representation from each area in the Faculty. Associate members are also eligible for election and would have full voting rights on the Faculty Board.
Nomination of Faculty Board Members. Not less than five weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting of the Faculty the Honorary Secretary shall communicate with all members of the Faculty requesting nominations for election to the Board. Nominees shall be proposed and seconded by members of the Faculty with the knowledge and approval of the nominee. These nominations shall be received by the Honorary Secretary not less than three weeks before the Annual General Meeting.
If more nominations than vacancies are received the Honorary Secretary will be responsible for holding a postal ballot amongst the members of the Faculty. The ballot form shall be sent out at least fourteen days before the Annual General Meeting of the Faculty and returned no later than four days before the Annual General Meeting. The ballot shall not be invalidated by a member not having received the ballot form.
In the event of there being insufficient written nominations received, verbal nominations will be accepted to fill the remaining posts during the course of the Annual General Meeting. If this results in more nominations than vacancies available, a ballot of the remaining seats will be organised at the discretion of the Chairman.
If the full number of members of the Board is not appointed by the Faculty, or if a vacancy occurs on the Board, the Board shall have power to appoint members of the Faculty to fill such vacancies until the next Annual General Meeting.
Nomination of Provost. Not less than five weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting of the Faculty the Honorary Secretary shall communicate with all members requesting nominations for the position of Provost. These nominations shall be proposed and seconded by members of the Faculty with the knowledge and approval of the nominee. These nominations shall be received by the Honorary Secretary not less than three weeks before the Annual General Meeting. In the event of there being more than one nomination the Honorary Secretary will be responsible for holding a postal ballot. In the event of there being no written nominations received verbal nominations will be accepted during the course of the Annual General Meeting. In the event of there being more than one nomination for the post of Provost during the course of the Annual General Meeting a ballot will be arranged at the discretion of the Chairman.
(i) all members of the Board shall retire from office each year at the AGM, but shall be eligible for re-appointment annually.
(b) The Board of the Faculty may co-opt other persons for special purposes in an advisory capacity. This might include the following:
(i) A representative from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Dundee
(ii) Representative(s) from the relevant Primary Care Trust(s)
(iii) A representative from the directorate of General Medicine in Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust or its successors
(iv) The Director of Postgraduate Medical Education in General Practice
(v) The Professor of General Practice, University of Dundee
(vi) The Professor of Research & Development in Primary Care, University of Dundee
(vii) General Practice Registrar representative

(B) Officers of the Board of the Faculty
(i) The officers of the Board of the Faculty shall be a Provost, Chairman (who may not be the Provost of the Faculty), Vice-Chairman, Honorary Treasurer, and one or two Honorary Secretaries. The offices of the Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary may be combined in one person.
(ii) Election of officers. The officers shall be appointed by the Board from its members, and shall hold office until the end of the Annual General Meeting next after their appointment. The Chairman may be re-elected up to a total period of three years in succession. A Vice- Chairman, Honorary Treasurer or Honorary Secretary shall be eligible for re-appointment annually.

(C) Meetings of the Board
(i) The first meeting of each Board shall be held immediately after the Annual General Meeting of the Faculty at which it is appointed. Other meetings of the Board shall be held not less frequently than once every three months.
(ii) The Board and any of its committees or sub-committees may, if the chairman of the body concerned agrees, meet wholly or partly by telephone or video conference, providing all members have been sent the papers for the meeting (including by electronic means).
(iii) Six members shall be considered a quorum.
(iv) Committees of the Board of the Faculty
The Board shall appoint such committees as it from time to time considers necessary. Representation and membership of these committees shall be decided by the Faculty Board.
Each committee of the Board of the Faculty may co-opt (with the approval of the Board members and associates of the Faculty who are not members of the Board) other persons who are not members of the Faculty or of the College. No one who is not a member or associate of the College shall be entitled to vote on these committees.

Finances of the faculty

7. (A) A grant to be determined from time to time by Council will be allocated from College funds to cover Faculty expenses.
(B) The Faculty shall maintain an imprest banking account in its name at any of the major clearing banks, any Building Society which is a member of the Building Society Association or a National Savings Investment Account.
(C) A balance sheet, and profit and loss account up to 31 March each year, and all balances held, prepared by the Honorary Treasurer of the Faculty, approved by the Board and signed by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman, shall be submitted no later than 1 May each year to the Honorary Treasurer of the College, to be included in the Annual Financial Report of the College.
(D) The Board of the Faculty shall be authorised to raise special funds, and expend them and any other monies received for special purposes, as the Council of the College, may approve. Such monies shall be controlled and audited in such manner as the Council of the College may determine.

Secretarial arrangements of the faculty

8. Copies of the Minutes of all meetings of the Faculty and its Board, and copies of all important letters, shall be sent each month to the Scottish headquarters of the College for information and filing.
No Faculty shall authorise the general, as distinct from local, publication of any article, notice or memorandum concerning the Faculty or its work, unless the same has first been approved by the Council of the College.

Faculty byelaws

9. Provided that at least fourteen days’ notice has been given to each member and associate of the Faculty specifying the exact words of the proposed change, alterations and additions to, and deletions from, the Bye-laws may be proposed at a General Meeting of the Faculty (or by the signatories of the requisition for an Extraordinary General Meeting), and may be adopted by a majority of three quarters of those present and voting. Always provided that no such change in the Bye-laws shall become effective, or come into operation, until approved by the Council of the College.

Reviewed Summer 2012