Frequently asked questions

FAQs about the Council review

Q. Why was Council restructured?
Q. How were decisions concerning the Council restructure taken?
Q. What was the Council Review Group (CRG)?
Q. What was the Council Planning Group (CPG)?
Q. What has been the impact of the restructure on the way the Council operates?
Q. What is the rationale for having regional representatives?
Q. What is the role of the regional representatives?
Q. How was the decision on the number of representatives per region taken?
Q. How are regional representatives elected?
Q. What is the tenure for Council representatives?
Q. What has been the impact of the changes on territorial divisions?
Q. Why are some specialist divisions not represented on the Council?
Q. How will recent graduates feed into the Council?
Q. How can I find out more?

Q. Why was Council restructured?
A. In 2008 the Board of Directors decided to review the structure of Council to ensure it was fulfilling its representational function, the Council’s structure had not been reviewed for twenty years.  [Back to top]

Q. How were decisions concerning the Council restructure taken?
A. The initial decision to review the structure of the Council was taken by the Board of Directors and agreed by the Council. Council members were invited to put themselves forward for membership of the Council Review Group (CRG). The CRG examined the composition and functioning of Council in detail; they recognised some strengths in the current Council but also acknowledged some weaknesses.

The CRG also made enquiries about the representative function of other membership organisations and considered what the composition of the ‘ideal’ Council might be. Once the CRG had made its final recommendations, the Board established the Council Planning Group (CPG). This was a subgroup of the Board that built on the work that the CRG had done and took its recommendations forward to the implementation stage. The CPG reported back to the Board with a set of final recommendations for approval. [Back to top]

Q. What was the Council Review Group (CRG)?
A. CRG was established in 2008 by the Board of Directors to review the structure of the Council, its members were elected from Council. Its aim was to ensure that the representational function of BVA was fit for purpose to deliver the needs of the profession from grass roots.

Its members, and their positions at the time, were Andrew Praill (Chairman and British Cattle Veterinary Association), Nick Blayney (President), Simon Doherty (Northern Ireland), David Dugdale (British Equine Veterinary Association), Ed Hall (British Small Animal Veterinary Association), Peter Jinman (Past President), Nicky Paull (President Elect), Louisa Rance (Recent Graduate), Iain Richards (Lakeland) and Freda Scott-Park (Past President).

The Group met six times. It considered the structure and functionality of Council, the way in which representatives were selected, the term of office for councilors and territorial and specialist division representation. The Group also considered the representative function and structure of other membership organisations. [Back to top]

Q. What was the Council Planning Group (CPG)?
A. CPG was established in 2009 by the Board to take forward the recommendations of the Council Review Group to the implementation stage. It met once before making its recommendations to the Board of Directors. Its members, and their positions at the time, were Brian Hoskin (Chairman and Chairman of the Board), Ted Chandler (Board and Past President), Nicky Paull (President), Andrew Praill (former Chair of the Council Review Group and British Cattle Vet Association), Bill Reilly (President Elect) and Iain Richards (former member of the Council Review Group, Lakeland, and Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons). [Back to top]

Q. Have the changes been fully approved?
A. The changes were approved by the Board of Directors and amendments to the Articles of Association were approved at the Annual General Meeting in September 2010. [Back to top]

Q. What has been the impact of the restructure on the way the Council operates?
A. The greatest impact the changes have had is that all BVA members are represented, meaning they can easily feed their comments and opinions into the Council. [Back to top]

Q. What is the rationale for having regional representatives?
A. The regional structure ensures that every BVA member is represented on the Council. Previously, those members who weren’t a member of a territorial or specialist division were not represented. It also reflects the regional government structure for England, making political engagement easier for BVA. [Back to top]

Q. What is the role of the regional representatives?
A. The role of the regional representatives is to represent the members in their region at meetings of the Council. The vast majority of the work of a representative takes place online primarily on the community forum. BVA headquarters offers support to the regional representatives via a dedicated member of staff.  [Back to top]

Q. How was the decision on the number of representatives per region taken?
A. The number of representatives for each region was a key point of debate, especially in the case of the devolved regions.

After the proposals were initially published the Board was contacted by a number of members in Scotland and Wales who felt that one representative would not be sufficient to represent all BVA members in those regions. After listening to their concerns the Board decided that the Scottish Branch would select one of its members to represent it on the Council, as would the Welsh Branch once established. This will means that Scotland and Wales each have two representatives on the Council, one from the Branch and one regional representative elected by the membership. [Back to top]

Q. How are regional representatives elected?
A. Regional representatives are elected by the members in their region. All BVA members are entitled to stand as a candidate to represent the region in which they are resident. Each member has one vote, and the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes. Members are able to vote online, or by post.  The election for regional representatives in January 2011 was run by the Electoral Reform Services, who have wide experience in running mixed ballot elections, for organisations ranging from the UN to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. [Back to top]

Q. What is the tenure for Council representatives?
A. The term for all Council representatives is three years, the same as for the Board of Directors and BVA standing committees. Representatives will be eligible for election for a second term of three years. After six years, a gap of at least three years will normally be required before a member can stand for election again to the same position [Back to top]

Q. What has been the impact of the changes on territorial divisions?
A. Due to their important role in delivering Continuing Professional Development and fostering the veterinary community, such as their support for the Graduate Support Scheme, the Territorial divisions continue to function as they are.

They have played an important role in the implementation of the new system, particularly in supporting the regional representatives to establish channels of communication. They continue to receive Council papers, be consulted and encouraged to feed in via the regional representatives. They also continue to receive support from BVA headquarters. [Back to top]

Q. Why are some specialist divisions not represented on the Council?
A. It was considered important that the number of specialist division representatives should not heavily outweigh the number of regional representatives on Council.   All specialist divisions, regardless of whether they sit on Council, continue to be invited to submit views and invited to attend Council if a subject under discussion directly relates to them.

 In addition, the Association of Vets in Industry has a place on Veterinary Policy Group (VPG) and the Medicines Group, the British Veterinary Hospitals Association and the Royal Army Veterinary Corps have places on the Members' Services Group (MSG), the Veterinary Deer Society has a place on the Veterinary Policy Group (VPG), and the Laboratory Animals Veterinary Association has places on the Ethics & Welfare Group (EWG) and VPG. All of these groups feed into the Council and therefore the policy development process.

The Society of Greyhound Vets and Society for the Study of Animal Breeding will continue to be consulted on relevant issues so they can feed their views to Council.  These divisions are also invited to attend and contribute to VPG and EWG policy development in their specialist areas. [Back to top]

Q. How will recent graduates feed into the Council?
A. Recent graduates feed in via their regional and recent graduate representatives,The names of all Council representatives are available on the BVA website. If you would like to contact your representative please visit the community forum or contact council@bva.co.uk or on 020 7908 6355. [Back to top]

Q. How can I find out more?
A. If you have any further questions about the changes, please contact us on council@bva.co.uk or by calling 020 7908 6355. [Back to top]