Review of Structure, Constitution and Governance

Summary of Council decisions

Principles

a. Effectiveness, inclusiveness, accountability and transparency must be evident in all aspects of the GMC's work.

The constitution of a new Council

b. There should continue to be an overall majority of elected medical members on the GMC, in keeping with the principle of professionally-led regulation.

c. There should continue to be appointed medical members on the GMC's governing body.

d. There should be a significant increase in the proportion of GMC lay members, in keeping with the principle that professionally-led regulation is in partnership with the public.

e. GMC lay members should be appointed by an independent commission according to agreed criteria.

f. There should be a new Council of 35 members, in whom statutory responsibility for discharging the GMC's functions would be vested.

g. There should be 19 directly-elected medical members; two appointed medical members and 14 lay members on the new Council.

h. The appointed medical members on the Council should be appointed by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the Council of Heads of Medical Schools.

i. The quorum in the new Council should be 25 members

Accountability

j. The GMC's accountability to the public and the profession should be strengthened, and should include more explicit accountability to Parliament, recognising the role of devolved government in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Education Committee

k. There should continue to be a statutory Education Committee.

Council membership

l. A member's term of office should be up to four years.

m. Council membership should be limited to eight consecutive years.

n. Council members should be able to stand for re-election or re-appointment after a fallow period of four years.

o. There should be provision for the removal of a member from office in exceptional circumstances

President

p. The maximum aggregate term as President should be six years.

q. The President should be eligible to serve for a third term as a member of Council, subject to the limit of an aggregate of six years as President.

Elections

r. There should be an electoral system based on geographical constituencies.

s. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales should remain separate constituencies.

t. The initial distribution of elected seats in the new GMC should be 15 seats in England; two seats in Scotland; one seat for Northern Ireland and one seat for Wales

u. To divide England into five three-member constituencies

v. Limited registration doctors should be eligible to participate in the elections on the same basis as doctors holding full or provisional registration

w. To increase the number of nominators required from six to ten.

x. The names of nominators should be published in the voting papers.

y. Nominators should be required to have a current licence to practise

z. Candidates should be required to disclose adverse Fitness to Practise findings for publication with the election papers.

aa. Further work should be done on the disclosure of criminal convictions by potential lay and medical members

bb. To continue to use the Single Transferable Vote system in elections to the Council.

Fitness to Practise

cc. The Council should continue to directly appoint people to support Fitness to Practise investigation functions.

dd. Only people who meet competency criteria and satisfactorily complete appropriate training should be eligible to sit on adjudication panels.

ee. Open selection against competencies should be the only source of GMC Adjudicators.

ff. The Chairman and some members of the Investigations Committee will be members of Council: they should be supplemented by people identified to assist with GMC core functions.

Inclusiveness

gg. There should be flexibility in our approach to securing inclusiveness, and for identifying people to contribute to our 'core' functions. This could include (in addition to people selected for their expertise) election, appointment and nomination.

Registration functions

hh. The Registration Committee should be invited to apply the principles in this paper when it considers what arrangements to recommend to the new Council for delivery of its registration functions, and who should be involved in carrying them out

Implementation

ii. To reaffirm the principle that we do not seek to influence the election, appointment or nomination of individuals to the Council.

jj. To encourage interest in Council membership from all parts of the profession and the community, and to provide guidance to potential members.

kk. To secure an Order to bring existing members' terms of office to an end on the date on which the members of the Council of 35 will take up office

ll. To hold a general election for the 19 elected members of the Council of 35.

mm. For the purposes of the limit of two consecutive terms on Council membership, to disregard periods of Council membership before the date that the Council of 35 takes office.