Constitution and Rules

1. The Association

The Association shall be called NACT UK trading as Medical Education Leaders UK, abbreviated to Med Ed Leaders UK, to recognise the involvement of all four Nations in the education and training of doctors.

2. Purpose of the Association

The object of the Association shall be the promotion of medical education and professional development of medical educators in all its aspects. This object shall be attained by holding at least one meeting annually for the discussion of any relevant matters and by such means as the Council shall approve.

3. Council members

The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Council, which shall consist of representatives from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England there shall be representatives from each region; the exact number of representatives shall be determined
by the Council from time to time. There shall be at least one representative from Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Ten shall form a quorum.

4. Carrying out the purposes

In order to carry out the charitable purposes, the members of the Council have the power to:
• Support the continuing professional development of educational leaders
• Provide strategic leadership on medical and dental education and advice to memberswho are aspiring to be or in post as medical education leaders
• Provide advice, when invited, to the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (COPMeD), Department of Health and Social Care, General Medical Council (GMC) and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) on matters relating to medical education
• Contribute to the national discussion on medical education
• Promote effective and co-ordinated delivery of medical and dental education across
the United Kingdom
• Advise on delivery of effective and co-ordinated assessment and recruitment processes for medical training across the United Kingdom
• Support medical and dental schools to improve the educational curriculum and the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate medical training
• Provide support to and an educational community for our membership and other educational leaders
• Foster communication and collegiality in the world of medical education
• Do anything within the law which may promote or help to promote the Purpose of the Association.

5. Membership

The Association shall have a membership. Membership may be renewed annually until members:
a) cease to be registered in a profession recognised by the Association
b) resign from the Association
c) are removed by the Council
Membership approval by the Council will usually be automatic in category (a) – listed below.  Subscription fees shall be determined by the Council. Honorary members will not be required to pay a subscription.
Membership of the Association shall be subject to such terms and conditions and for such periods as the Council may think fit. Types of membership include:
a) full membership for Directors of Medical Education/Associate Directors of Medical Education, Postgraduate Clinical and College Tutors, Foundation Programme Directors, Specialist and Associate Specialist (SAS) and Locally Employed (LED) Tutors, together with those involved in leading medical education and professional development of medical education in their organisations.
b) full membership for persons in categories not included in the above, which the Council may also approve.
c) associate membership for doctors in training and locally employed doctors.
The Council shall have the power to nominate Honorary members from time to time, such action being subject to confirmation at the next Annual General Meeting.
The Council may remove a person’s membership if they believe it is in the best interests of the Association. Criteria may include:
a) any member whose subscription is one year in arrears (though any such member may be re-instated by the Council upon such terms as the Council shall see fit)
b) any member who brings the Association into disrepute
c) any member no longer qualified to belong to the Association
The member has the right to be heard by the Council before the decision is made and can be accompanied by a friend.
The Honorary Officers of the Association shall consist of: –
The Chair
The Vice-Chair
The Honorary Secretary
The Honorary Treasurer
The Honorary PR Officer & Editor
The Honorary Assistant Secretary
The Officers will function as an Executive Committee which is authorised to undertake the day-to-day administration of the Council in line with its terms of reference.  The Council will keep an up-to-date membership list.

6. Annual General Meeting – AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held once in each year at which it:
Receives the report of the proceedings since the preceding Annual General Meeting Determines the subscriptions for the ensuing year
Elects the officers
Discuss any relevant matters (as per Purpose of the Association section) Ordinary resolutions such as these require a simple majority vote of those attending.
Changes to the Constitution or the rules require a two-thirds majority vote of the members present. Each member shall have one vote and the decision of the majority present and voting will prevail. In the case of equality of voting, the Chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
An agenda should be sent to all members and minutes of the AGM should be kept.  The Council shall submit to each Annual General Meeting the nominations for each of the Officers.
Any member of the Association may nominate any other member for election as an Officer provided that such nomination is sent to the Honorary Secretary not less than six weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting and all nominations whether by the Council or by individual members of the Association shall be printed on the notice convening the meeting.

The Honorary Officers shall be re-elected at each Annual General Meeting and their tenure in office shall be for three consecutive years, Moreover, the Honorary Officers may be re-elected for an additional three-year term but shall not exceed 2 consecutive terms.

Any casual vacancy occurring amongst the Honorary Officers may be filled by the Council until the next Annual General Meeting where they will be formally elected.
Notice: the Honorary Secretary will provide 14 days’ clear notice of the Annual General Meeting. The notice will include the agenda, the supporting papers and the names of the nominated regional representatives and co-opted members.

7. Council meetings

The Council will normally meet four times a year and otherwise at the discretion of the Chair.
Major policy issues for the forthcoming year will be addressed at, or adjacent to, one of these meetings.
The conduct of the meeting is the responsibility of the Chair.
Decisions are taken through consensus and debate. Occasionally voting is required and all members of the Council, with the exception of co-opted members, are eligible to vote.
Minutes of the Council meetings will be circulated to those present for accuracy after the meeting and once accepted, these draft minutes will be circulated to the Council.
The Council is authorised to establish an Executive Committee under such terms of reference as it sees fit and delegate matters of responsibility to it within a formal scheme.

8. Money and property

Money and property must only be used for the Association’s purposes.
The Association must keep accounts.
Council members cannot receive any money or property from the charity, except to refund reasonable out of pocket expenses.
Money must be held in the Association’s bank account.
Upon the dissolution of the Association, any surplus funds in the hands of the Council shall not be refundable to the members but shall be decided at the next Annual General Meeting.

9. General meetings

None of these rules shall be altered or rescinded and no further rules shall be made, except by the Association in the General Meeting and with the approval of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, provided that no amendment is made that would cause the Association to cease to be a charity at law. Ordinary resolutions require a simple majority.
Winding up – any money or property remaining after payment of debts must be given to an organisation with similar purposes to this one.
Changes to the Constitution can be made at AGMs or General Meetings. No change can be made that would make the organisation no longer an association.
The Honorary Secretary shall, on the direction of the Council, or at the request of at least twenty-five members convene a General Meeting of the Association of which not less than twenty-one days’ notice specifying the business to be transacted shall be given.
This revised version of the Constitution was adopted on 12th May 2022.

Dr Stephen Lord – Chair