Governance and committees

The Charity is registered with the Charity Commission and Companies House as a company limited by guarantee and we are governed according to our Articles of Association. You can find a copy of these articles at the bottom of the page.

The Board of Trustees

The overall responsibility for the work of the charity lies with the Board of Trustees. The Board sets the strategy, agrees objectives and approves plans to deliver the charity's aims. They monitor and evaluate the progress of the charity to ensure we achieve what we have set out to do. The Board is held to account by the membership at the Annual General Meeting at which it presents the Trustees' report and the financial accounts for the previous year.

The Board may comprise of up to nine elected members, two co-opted and one nominated from the Health Advisory Council. The elected members are elected by the Membership at the Annual General Meeting for a three year term of office. They may serve no more than two consecutive three year terms.

The expertise within the Board is substantial and wide ranging. Trustees include experienced senior healthcare professionals, marketing professionals, an HR consultant, a management consultant and a communications specialist. All Trustees are volunteers committing many days, evenings and weekends of the year to working for the charity.

Board committees

The Board of Trustees delegate some of its responsibilities to Board committees to provide a particular focus on some issues:

• Audit, Investment and Risk Committee  - ensures the financial compliance and the robustness of the Board's overall monitoring and governance (Trustees involved: Anne Davis, Chris Dilloway, Clive Hart, Kate Denham and Miranda Sheffield)
• People Committee - reviewing overall HR policies and ensuring legal and best practice compliance (Trustees involved: Aishah Farooq, Anita Patel, Chris Dilloway, Lawrence Broadie, Miranda Sheffield and Nicky Valmas)
• Commercial Committee - providing the charity with expert insight and fulfilling the governance requirements for the detailed scrutiny and oversight of the commercial strategy and delivery (Trustees involved: Anne Davis, Chris Dilloway, Nicky Valmas and Nuala Gallagher)
• Fundraising Committee providing detailed scrutiny and oversight of fundraising associated with the Fund (Trustees involved: Aishah Farooq, Kate Denham and Lawrence Broadie)
• Executive Action Committee - to be activated when there is a crisis and the Board cannot be convened.

The Board also has two established advisory groups: the Health Advisory Council (Trustee involved: Gerry Robins) and the Food Standards Committee (Trustee involved: Sarah Bull). Each provides advice and intelligence on matters relating to the health and food sectors respectively. We also have a wider advisory group drawing on healthcare professionals from across the UK. This is called our Health Advisory Network.

To oversee the management of the charity’s Research Fund the Board has established two bodies:

• Research Strategy Board (Trustees involved: Anita Patel) providing overall strategic direction for the spending of the Fund.
• Research Awards Panel managing the awarding of grant funds to applicants with any final recommendations for the Board's approval.