We received a number of submissions from our members, several of which have been successfully progressed to the ‘support’ stage, which opens on Monday 2 August. In this next stage, members will be invited to support those motions and resolutions they would like to be taken forward for a vote at the AGM. A resolution requires 5% of the members eligible to vote to support it and a motion requires 0.1% of the members eligible to vote to support it, to progress to the final voting stage at the 2021 AGM.

As BACP is a charity, the Board of Governors has an obligation to act in the best interests of the organisation. When reviewing submitted motions and resolutions, the Board collectively agreed not to progress several submissions to the next stage as the Board believed that doing so would not be in the best interests of the charity.

This included submissions relating to our involvement in SCoPEd, several of which called for BACP to end or halt our involvement in the initiative, or to offer a member vote on adoption.

BACP’s Board is elected by the wider membership to lead and set the strategic policy direction on behalf of the organisation and our members, and SCoPEd has been a key part of BACP’s Board approved strategy since 2016.

We currently believe that the framework will best represent the long-term interests of our members, employers and those who use our services, will provide clarity in the current landscape and create new opportunities for all. As a joint initiative involving six other partners the Board also believes that withdrawing BACP’s involvement from SCoPEd at this stage could significantly and detrimentally affect our members in the long term.

However, the Board’s final decision as to whether to adopt the framework is yet to be made, and we remain committed to ensuring that members are given adequate opportunity to engage with and inform the direction of SCoPEd as the project continues to develop.

Wherever submissions were rejected, our decision was communicated to the relevant proposer in advance of the member support process opening along with a clear rationale for our decision. While many of our members may wish to see this information, it is not appropriate for BACP to share this publicly on behalf of the proposer, though proposers themselves may wish to do so.

Where the Board collectively felt that submissions could be progressed with minor amendments, BACP officers liaised directly with the proposer and encouraged a re-submission based on our feedback.

Unfortunately, the nature of several submissions meant that the changes required to move submissions to the support phase would radically alter the nature of the original submission. In these instances, submissions have been rejected as above.

It’s important to note that progression of a motion or resolution does not imply support for the submission itself, but rather support for the motion or resolution to progress to the next stage of the process.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for your engagement throughout this process so far and would encourage you to support those motions and resolutions that speak to you over the coming weeks.

Natalie Bailey, Chair