Roles and Responsibilities
The Council of Governors represents the interests of both public and staff members and of partnership organisations. Governors act as a conduit between the Trust and its members, and also engage with the wider community in an ambassadorial role, to raise awareness of the Trust and its vision and seek feedback on the Trust and its services. Governors also perform a number of statutory duties.
The Council meets four times a year and is led and directed by the Chairman of the Trust. All Governors are expected, as a minimum, to attend these quarterly meetings, along with our Annual Members Meeting. Members of the Board of Directors attend the quarterly Council of Governors meetings. The quarterly meetings are also open to the public.
Many Governors, in addition to the quarterly meetings, also attend various workshops and sub-groups
Statutory Duties
- To appoint and, if appropriate, remove the Chairman
- To appoint and, if appropriate, remove the other Non Executive Directors
- To decide the remuneration and allowances, and other terms and conditions of office, of the Chairman and other Non Executive Directors;
- To approve the appointment of the Chief Executive
- To appoint, and if appropriate, remove the auditor
- To receive the annual accounts, any report on these provided by the auditor, and the annual report
This is in addition to:
- Preparing the NHS Foundation Trust’s forward plan, the Board of Directors must have regard to the views of the Council of Governors.
Further Duties
The Council of Governors now have further responsibilities as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 :
- holding Non Executive Directors, individually and collectively to account for the performance of the Board of Directors
- representing the interests of the members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public
- approval of ‘significant transactions’
- Governors must decide whether the Trust’s private patient work would significantly interfere with the Trust’s principal purpose, which is to provide goods and services for the health service in England
- the Council of Governors must approve any proposed increase in non–NHS income of 5% or more in any financial year.