From the President of the Central Council, Christopher O’Mahony:
You will probably be aware from previous emails, from our social media presence and from the pages of the Ringing World, that we have been working hard to progress the mandate for reform agreed last May at Edinburgh, in order to deliver better services that benefit ringers and ringing.
A pre-requisite of these efforts is the work to revise the Council’s Rules to give life to the proposals for reform which were agreed in May.
The working group tasked with this challenge published a first draft of the revised Rules in October 2017 and a second draft in December 2017, reflecting the comments received.
As promised in December, the “final” version of the revised Rulebook, reflecting the feedback received on the second draft, has now been completed and sent to the Charity Commission for their formal approval. It is this final version which will be submitted to the Council Meeting at Lancaster in May 2018. The attached briefing paper sets out its main features and has been sent to your Council representative(s).
Our focus now shifts from drafting the Rulebook to the practical work of transitioning with effect from the Lancaster meeting. This will involve the efforts of our existing Officers and Committees as well as the members of the new Executive and Workgroups which have been formed as a consequence of the decisions taken at Edinburgh.
Along with many others, I have both commented upon and provided input into the final version. In my view it delivers on the reforms agreed at Edinburgh and achieves our aim to create an organisation fit for the challenges of the 21st Century. In doing this, it also draws on the many strengths of the existing Council and its volunteers.
As the attached paper explains, the new Rulebook has been through an extensive process of review. In addition to two formal consultations, it has been checked against Charity Commission guidance and ‘stress tested’ against our peers. The new Rulebook does not affect your representation and will not, so far as we can see, require changes to your society’s constitution.
Without a new Rulebook, importantly, none of the other reforms agreed at Edinburgh can take place.
In addition to the revised Rulebook and supporting documents, there is a growing body of “frequently asked questions” which we trust will answer any outstanding queries or concerns. These, together with the new governing documents and other explanatory material prepared by the working group can be found here:
https://cccbr.org.uk/about/reform/rules/
Yours in ringing,
Christopher O’Mahony
President