There are 44 elected and 4 appointed representatives on Council, although the AOP is in the process of adding one additional appointed councillor to Council from May 2010, to represent newly qualified optometrists. The additional seat on Council will bring the total of councillors to 49.
“Councillors by locality” are elected to represent 28 geographical constituencies: 18 in England, 5 in Scotland, 3 in Wales and 2 in Northern Ireland. To see the areas covered by the geographical constituencies click on the .pdf file setting at the foot of the page.
16 “Councillors by Function” are elected: 7 to represent employed optometrists, 8 to represent self-employed optometrists and 1 to represent dispensing opticians. The proportion of employed and self-employed optometrists on Council is in the ratio of the number of employed and self-employed optometrists in membership of the AOP.
Four councillors are appointed: one to represent hospital optometrists (nominated by the AOP’s Hospital Optometrists’ Committee); one to represent university lecturers (3-year term), one to represent pre-registration students and one to represent undergraduate students (each a one-year term). The lecturers’ and students’ representatives are appointed by the AOP Chairman subject to ratification by the Board of Directors.
Under the Association’s byelaws, elections to the AOP Council are conducted on a three-year cycle, with one-third of councillors retiring from Council each year. Retiring councillors may seek re-election to Council. If seats on Council become vacant during the year, an AOP member may be appointed to fill the “casual vacancy”. If no appointment is made, the seat(s) will be put up for election alongside the seats that are due for election each year. Any member appointed or elected to fill a casual vacancy will remain on Council until the seat was due for election under the byelaws.
One third of the seats on Council are due for election each year. In the next three years these will be:
2010: 2 employed and 3 self-employed optometrists and the dispensing opticians’ representatives; 6 seats in England, 1 in Scotland and 1 in Wales. Appointment of a hospital optometrists’ representative, a university lecturers’ representative, a pre-registration optometrists’ representative and an undergraduate optometry students’ representative.
2011: 2 employed and 3 self-employed optometrists; 6 seats in England, 2 in Scotland and 1 each in Northern Ireland and Wales.
2012: 3 employed and 2 self-employed optometrists; 6 seats in England, 2 in Scotland and 1 each in Northern Ireland and Wales.
A .pdf version of the nomination form for the AOP Council elections together with instructions for completing and returning the form and information about the elections will be found at the foot of this page.
We wish to encourage AOP members to stand for election or nominate a member to stand for election to the AOP Council in 2010.
The role of the AOP councillor is to help the AOP formulate policy and take forward the various areas of its work by contributing to the discussions in Council and through serving on AOP committees.
Council meets twice yearly, in November (1 day) and May (2 days including the AGM).
Each Councillor, other than members of the Board of Directors, is appointed annually by the AOP Chairman to serve on one of the following committees: Policy & Strategy; Communications and Public Affairs Committee; Education; Primary Care; and, Membership and any other committee which may be established from time to time under Association’s byelaws. The committees meet three times a year. Outside of the committees’ meetings their work may be carried out by e-mail, post, telephone and, occasionally, sub-committees or working groups.
After a member has served on Council for a year, he or she may stand for election to the Board of Directors, which comprises 11 members of Council elected by Council. Election to the Board is for a three-year term of office. Under the Association’s byelaws, one third of the board retires annually. Retiring directors may seek re-election to the Board.
A more detailed outline of the work of AOP councillors is available in the .pdf file, Introduction to Council, below. Details of the work of Council, the Board and each committee are on the AOP website at www.aop.org.uk/about/about_structure.html.
The AOP pays Councillors a fee for days spent out of practice on AOP activities and reimburses their reasonable expenses in undertaking this work. Payments are governed by the current Councillors Fees and Expenses Rules.
