Council has been aware for some time that the Society’s Bye-Laws, last updated in 2006, were in need of further revision. Our AGM in June approved a revised version of the bye-laws and on 13 August we received confirmation that these had been approved by the Privy Council, no less.
The main changes are intended to reflect the current way in which new fellows are elected and to give the Council greater flexibility in the when and how often we hold council and ordinary meetings, while also giving the Society’s membership a greater opportunity to be involved in electing officers and council members at the AGM, bringing them into line with best practice as laid down by the Charity Commission.
In particular, the new bye-laws will:
- simplify the method for recruiting new Fellows and bring it into line with current practice, as formal elections are no longer held;
- bring in simplified way for recruiting young and student Fellows at a reduced subscription;
- mean that Council will not need to meet ten times a year and will give Council flexibility over the frequency of these meetings;
- give Council flexibility over the frequency and timing of Ordinary meetings;
- bring the procedure for examining the Society’s accounts into line with Charity Commission guidelines;
- give greater flexibility over the roles of the Society’s officers;
- modify the procedures for electing Council at the AGM in line with the Charity Commission’s best practice.