Constitution
Constitution of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers (BSACP)
1. Name
The Society shall be named the British Society of Abortion Care Providers (BSACP).
2. Aim
The aim of the BSACP shall be to improve the standard of abortion care in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
3. Membership
At the time of application, prospective members should be engaged in the provision of abortion care. In addition, other individuals contributing to the advancement of abortion care may be nominated for membership at the discretion of the Council.
i. Those seeking membership with BSACP shall be self-proposed. Applications must be made on the appropriate form.
ii. The Council shall consider all applications for membership and reserves the right to seek further information and to defer or decline applications.
4. Honorary membership
i. At the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the BSACP may welcome into Honorary membership those whom it wishes to honour.
ii. Any ordinary member may make a proposal for Honorary membership.
iii. All nominations for Honorary membership must be received by the BSACP Office no less than two calendar months before the AGM.
iv. The Council shall consider all such nominations and reserves the right to seek further information and to defer or decline nominations.
v. Council may elect an Honorary or full member of BSACP to act as President of the Society for any reasonable length of time, but not indefinitely.
5. Officers of the Society
i. The Officers shall comprise a Chair, a Secretary, a Membership Secretary and a Treasurer, who shall be elected by the ordinary members for a term of three years. There shall also be an option of having two Co-Chairs or a Chair and a Vice-Chair.
ii. The Chair(s) shall be elected at the AGM and shall serve for the following three years as Chairs. The Chair(s) may be nominated for re-election for a second term of office.
iii. The Secretary shall be elected at the AGM and shall serve for the following three years as Secretary. The Secretary may be nominated for re-election for a second term of office.
iv. The Membership Secretary shall be elected at the AGM and shall serve for the following three years as Membership Secretary. The Membership Secretary may be nominated for re-election for a second term of office.
v. The Treasurer shall be elected at the AGM and shall serve for the following three years as Treasurer. The Treasurer may be nominated for re-election for a second term of office.
vi. Only ordinary members (not Honorary members) will be eligible for nomination to become Officers. Nominations must be submitted on the appropriate form to be received by the BSACP Office no less than two calendar months before the next AGM so that, if necessary, a postal ballot can be arranged and the results announced at the AGM. Only ordinary members are eligible to vote. If only one nomination is received, the Council shall consider the nomination and, if approved, the appointment shall be announced at the AGM. vii. The Council shall reserve the right to seek further information and to defer or decline proposals.
vii. Council may recommend extension of an Officer’s term for up to one year for the purpose of collaboration whilst introducing a new person into that Officer’s role.
viii. If an Officer is unable to complete the full term of three years, Acting Chairs, an Acting Secretary or Acting Treasurer shall be appointed from amongst members of the Council until the due process of nomination and election is completed at the next AGM.
6. Council
i. The Council shall consist of the Officers and Representatives elected from the membership. The Representatives shall consist of one doctor Representative, one nursing/midwifery Representative, one Representative from a non-clinical discipline, one consumer Representative and one Representative from a clinician in training. The Representatives shall hold office for three years except the Trainee Representative who would hold office for two years. The Trainee Representative will be replaced at the end of their training if this occurs before the end of the two years.
ii. In addition to the composition of Council detailed at 6i, the following appointments/arrangements should be considered.
a) One additional nurse or midwife
b) An ordinary member representative
c) A doctor representing the independent sector or NHS
d) A nurse/midwife representing the independent sector or NHS
e) Individual representatives from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Crown Dependencies or Overseas Territories
f) An observer from another interested organisation (non-voting)
g) An individual member who wishes to attend on a one-off basis (non-voting),
iii. The input of allied health professionals to the work of the Society will be achieved by establishing links and working collaboratively with relevant national organisations.
iv. Only ordinary members shall be eligible to become Representatives on the Council. Nominations from ordinary members must be submitted on the appropriate form to be received by the BSACP office no less than two calendar months before the next AGM. If a postal ballot is necessary, only ordinary members will be eligible to vote. If the ballot is for a Representative with regional boundaries, only ordinary members working within the relevant regional boundaries shall be eligible to vote.
v. The Council may co-opt members to carry out a specific task or perform a specific role. The co-option should be for an agreed fixed period. Observers from another organisation will be approved in the same way as co-options.
vi. The Council shall meet face-to-face or by teleconference at least once between AGMs. A quorum shall be four, one of whom must be a Chair or the Secretary.
7. Annual General Meeting
There shall be an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at a venue and date to be arranged in advance. Usually, the AGM and a meeting of the Council shall take place in conjunction with an annual meeting which will be open to all those with an interest in abortion care.
8. Finance
The financial affairs of the Society shall be overseen by the Treasurer. Annual subscriptions shall be collected from all members. Any increase in subscription charges must be approved at an AGM preceding the proposed increase. The annual membership subscription together with all surplus funds accrued from annual meetings shall form the basic source of income for the Society. The Treasurer has the authority to disburse funds for the benefit of the Society as appropriate and shall submit a statement of accounts to each AGM.
9. Changes in the Constitution
Proposed changes to the Constitution shall be submitted to the Secretary for consideration by the Council. Any changes to the Constitution shall require a two-thirds majority vote at the AGM. The Officers of the Society will work to Rules of Procedure for the internal functions of BSACP. These Rules, and any changes to them, will be put before Council for discussion and approval. The Rules will be circulated to members but will not be required to be voted on at the AGM.
[v10 Ratified at BSACP AGM 07.10.2022]
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