Background
In accordance with the Special Resolution Vote passed by the RPS members and Fellows in March 2025, the Society is now taking steps to enact the necessary changes to the governance to ensure a smooth transition to becoming the Royal College of Pharmacy with charity registration.
The Society needs to hold elections in 2026 which will provide both for the proposed transition to the Royal College of Pharmacy, or, should there be a delay with Privy Council or charity regulator approvals, to the existing Society governance model until such time as the transition to Royal College is effected. The provisions of the existing Regulations that govern the election to the National Boards and Assembly need to be amended to accommodate this.
In order to ensure that the registered charity is not undertaking commercial activities, Assembly agreed in 2024 that part of the transition would involve transferring the existing publishing business known as Pharmaceutical Press into a subsidiary company (Pharmaceutical Press Limited — currently dormant) before becoming a charity. To enact this transition, clauses 16 and 17 of the current Regulations need to be removed prior to that transfer.
Amendments to Regulations
In light of the above, it was therefore proposed and Assembly members approved, in the business session of an extraordinary meeting held on 16 October 2025, that the following amendments be made to the Regulations:
Gazetting process
The gazetting period will close on 19 December 2025.
If representations or comments are received Assembly will consider these as soon as feasibly possible following closure of the gazetting period and publish any further amendments or information in light of such comments.
Unless further amendments are required to the Regulations, the necessary amendments to the Society’s Regulations as shown here will take effect from 22 December 2025.
Members wishing to comment to the Assembly on the changes should complete this online form by 19 December 2025.