Home > About the GPhC > Governance > Chair and Council

Chair and Council

Some key governance provisions have been decided in order to allow the appointment of the Chair and Council of the GPhC in time for them to lead the establishment of the new organisation. These are as follows.

Composition of the Council

• There will be 14 members including the Chair, with half being lay (lay members will not include anyone who has ever been registered as a health or social care professional).
• There will be no reserved places for the professions, but there will be reserved places for members who live or work (either mainly or wholly) in each of the participating countries (England, Scotland and Wales).

Terms of office 

• Initial appointments will be for two or four years, followed by a rolling programme of biennial appointments, generally for four-year terms.
• The term of a Council member or Chair who is not performing adequately will be terminated.

Chair

• The Chair may be either a lay person or a registrant.

Council and staff roles

• The Council will define the organisation's policies and delegate activities to its staff through the Chief Executive and Registrar (CE&R). The CE&R will report to the Council and be accountable to it for the organisation's performance. All other staff will be accountable to the CE&R.

Job descriptions 

• The job descriptions of the Chair and the Council members will specify qualities including motivation, levels of competence and strategic ability.
• Lay membership of the Council must not be regarded as a substitute for patient and public involvement.

Remuneration and expenses 

• Remuneration will be the same for both lay and registrant members.
• Remuneration will be annual rather than by daily attendance fee.
• Annual remunerations for the Chair and Council members will be set at £48,000 and £12,000 respectively, reflecting the time and commitment demanded by the roles.

Code of conduct 

• There will be a code governing the conduct of Council members, stating that the core duty of a regulator is to protect the public and that this duty should permeate every aspect of the Council's work.

Council performance evaluation

• There will be a performance evaluation process for the Council, including pre-established criteria, together with an occasional wider review of the Council's performance as a whole.

Council member appraisal scheme

• There will be an appraisal process for Council members, including clear corporate and individual objectives, a review with the Chair and an all-Council review of performance and behaviour.

Standing orders

The following standing orders have been approved by the Council designate and will be ratified once the Council has legal status.

GPhC Council Standing Orders  [PDF opens new window, 96KB]