RCN Council meetings

Currently, Council meetings are taking place as a mix of both virtual and in-person meetings.

Recordings of Council meetings are published on the RCN website shortly after a meeting has taken place. Previous recordings of Council meetings can be accessed here.

As an RCN member you can observe the open sessions of Council via Teams (virtual meetings), live web stream (of an in-person meeting) or by attending in person. If you would like to attend a session, please email As an RCN member you can observe the open sessions of Council via Teams (virtual meetings), live web stream (of an in-person meeting) or by attending in person. If you would like to attend a session, please email governance.support@rcn.org.uk.

If you do get the chance to observe a Council meeting, there will be some limitations:

• you will not be able to speak during the meeting, although the Chair may invite you to speak in special circumstances
• you will not be able to vote
• if the meeting room is too crowded, you may not be allowed in. You may also be asked to leave by the committee if the room becomes too full
• you will be invited to sit in the 'observer' seats, separated from members of the committee and RCN staff
• you will not be able to claim expenses for attendance.

Paragraph 9 of the RCN “Policy and process for the running of meetings of the RCN Council, Boards and Committees”, sets out the requirements for Members of the College to submit proposals for items to be considered at RCN Council meetings.

The extract of the Policy is detailed below:

Agenda items at Council meetings 
Items proposed by Members of the College 
9.1 Members of the College may, subject to this policy, submit proposals for items to be considered at such Council meetings as the Council shall specify in advance. 
9.2 Unless otherwise specified, those meetings will be the two-day Council meetings held in each quarter of the year, during sections of such meetings with are “open sessions.” 
9.3 In order to submit items for consideration, a Member must notify the Governance Team at such address as the Council shall make available to Members from time to time, in such format as the Governance Team may specify from time to time. Such notice must: 
9.3.1 Be received not less than 30 days before the date of the meeting.
9.3.2 State the issue to be considered, brief background to the issue and, if applicable, the decision the Member wishes the Council to make. 
9.3.3 Not include any material which is frivolous, vexatious, or defamatory of any person. 
9.4 Notices received which comply with this paragraph 9 shall be placed on the agenda for the relevant Council meeting. The Chair shall have the discretion as to where the item shall sit on the agenda for the meeting, and the time allotted to such item. The Council shall deal with the item in a way they decide is in the best interests of the College and the member/s submitting the item shall have the right to present the item to the Council during the meeting. 
9.5 Following the conclusion of the meeting, if the member/s was not present, the Governance Team shall notify them of the Council’s decision in relation to their item.

The exact dates of the two-day Council meetings will be published on the RCN website at: How The RCN Is Governed | Royal College of Nursing.

This document sets out the process in which members may submit items for consideration.

• By way of notification, Members must complete the Proposal form for agenda items to be considered by Council and return it via email to Governance.support@rcn.org.uk by the advised deadline specified for each Council meeting. 
  Please note, Council may defer your item to a different Council meeting; however, this will be discussed with submitters in advance.
• Upon receipt, the submitter will receive an acknowledgement email.
• It is RCN Council’s expectation that submissions received will have been raised with the appropriate escalation channels, where applicable, in order that matters may seek to be addressed through the formal channels in the first instance.
  The escalation channels for raising items within the RCN include:
  
  Region/Country Branch
  Region/Country Board
  Staff Lead
  Relevant RCN Committee Chair
  Council Member
  
  
• Submitters will be notified of the outcome within 7 clear business working days from the date of receipt of their submission, by email by the Governance Team.
• Once the item has been accepted onto a Council agenda, the submitter will be requested to complete the standard Council Paper template and return this to Governance.support@rcn.org.uk, for consideration by Council, by the advised deadline. 
• Once received, the RCN Executive Team will be invited to comment on the paper to be presented. 
• The paper including ET comments (if any) will be provided to the submitter ahead of the meeting date, via email.
• The member submitting the item shall have the right to present the item to Council during the meeting, either virtually or in person, however, please note that travel expenses to attend in person will not be reimbursed. 
• Following the conclusion of the meeting, the Governance Team shall notify the submitter of the Council’s decision in relation to that item.
  
  

Criteria for decision making as to whether a submission is accepted on to a Council agenda

• Incomplete proposal forms will not be considered.
• Agenda items which have not been raised with the appropriate escalation channels in the first instance may be declined. 
• Agenda items which relate to Congress resolutions may be declined. Such matters should be raised through the Congress workstream(s).
• Agenda items which relate to personal complaints against individuals or groups of individuals are not allowed. Please follow the RCN Complaints procedure for such matters. 
• Agenda items which are of a localised nature may be declined.
• Where an agenda item is declined, the RCN will seek to offer alternate routes for addressing items.

Right to appeal

If your submission is unsuccessful and you are not satisfied with the suggested means of addressing your item, please speak directly with the Council member for your Region in the first instance.