Explanatory Notes
The rules of the Association have existed in their current form for many years and, although minor alterations have been made, they have not undergone a full review for some time. The result of this is that the rules have become somewhat unwieldy in some situations and in others they lack clarity. Additionally, they currently lack the flexibility or relevance that ensure they are workable in current times. The biggest issue has been that regarding rule changes. Over recent years, we have had to call Extraordinary General Meetings in order to make urgent amendments to the rules, however, in their current form, these can only be made at an AGM and require an EGM to be called in order to fulfil these necessary amendments. Society has moved on from when the rules were written and the requirement that a rule change can take in excess of 7 months to action is, I believe, completely inadequate in some cases.
I have, with the help of other Members, reviewed the rules and looked at how they may be made clearer to the Membership and how they can be workable for us, as an Association.
Below is a summary of the main alterations/clarifications which should be read in conjunction with the proposed amendments.
- PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTS
This has now taken into account that the Archbishop of Canterbury may decline the invitation to become President. I have also clarified that these Vice-Presidents only remain so whilst they hold their tenures and that these positions are purely Honorary.
- MEMBERSHIP
Membership categories have been clarified, as have the voting rights for each class.
I have referred to members registering for membership on MemberMojo. However, at present I feel that we will currently need to maintain the system of proposing members at meetings. From my discussion with some members, it seems that there are many active members who are against the idea of joining online and then ratifying this membership at a District meeting.
- SUBSCRIPTIONS
The subscription deadline changed to 1st March to make it easier to include members in the Handbook. As subscriptions are now online, this new deadline should be unduly challenging to meet.
To clarify Membership, I have now included a requirement that all Practising members who are entitled to free membership confirm they wish to remain a member annually to ensure that database stays up to date.
- GOVERNANCE
I have made the Safeguarding Officer part of the General Committee, In these times, I believe that this is an essential role and gives the Safeguarding Officer greater authority at Committee Meetings when it comes to decisions that may need to be made regarding safeguarding issues.
The quorum for the General Committee is 8. As there are 10 General Committee Officers plus a further 6 District Reps who form part of this committee, that equates to 50%.
- ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
The revised rules now state that the General Committee should meet at least twice a year. This is, I believe, a minimum requirement and the General Committee currently meet four times a year.
For clarity, I have set the date of the AGM between 21st March and 30th June. 31st July is well into the 2nd half of the membership cycle and the change to 30th June ensures that the AGM occurs the first half of the calendar year.
The rules for calling an EGM have been clarified following the suggestions at a previous committee meeting.
I feel that the decline in the circulation of the Ringing World and the advent of email communications together with other electronic means of notifications negates the previous stipulation that we published notices in the Ringing World. Looking through the copies I receive, very few associations or guilds now publish notices here.
- DISTRICTS
I have clarified that District Reps and District Secretaries are automatically members of any District Committee rather than ex-officio members.
- FINANCES
The amount that the Treasurer can pay out has been clarified together with a more robust series of checks on payments being drawn on the accounts by the other two Trustees. All payments that the Treasurer makes up to £1500 are with the consent of at least one other Trustee (Chairman or Secretary) and any amount greater than £1500 requires the consent of the General Committee. The Treasurer will also send monthly balance sheets to both of the other Trustees to ensure that spending is as authorised.
I have considered the succession plans so should the Treasurer be unable to carry out their duties another person may administer the finds.
I have also considered how the Association may disperse its assets should it be disbanded. As a ringing Association, I feel quite strongly that these assets should be directed towards supporting and promoting change-ringing and propose that the assets should be distributed equally between the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers and the Association of Ringing Teachers with the express direction that the funds are used towards the furtherance of change ringing.
- Conduct of Members / Termination / Suspension From or Termination of Membership
I have included negligence in the grounds for suspension of membership. Have also included a clause detailing procedure following suspension of an Officer.
- Amendments to Rules
It would be beneficial to make it easier to change rules through introducing an EGM process in addition to discussion at an AGM. Recent experience has shown that it would be useful to be able to have greater flexibility over when the rules can be amended.
I am now in a position to share these proposed amendments to the rules with Members during a consultation period and am inviting feedback from the membership on the proposals. The consultation period will close at 23:59 on Sunday 14th July 2024, after which I will be preparing a final submission of the update to the Rules for the General Committee’s approval prior to sharing with the membership for consideration and discussion as directed in the current rules on rule changes.
A copy of the proposed rules is available on the Association website at https://kcacr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Redrafted-Rules-of-the-Association-for-Consultation.pdf and I am also asking District Secretaries to share this information. Any feedback should be sent to me at and please put ‘Rules Review’ in the subject line.
Neil Jones
Chairman, KCACR