I have been a member of the RCN Council for the South East Region since January, and it has certainly been a steep but enjoyable learning curve.

When I stood for election, I promised to be as transparent and accountable to members. In this update, I am writing about the RCN Annual General Meeting, which will be held on July 17th at 17:30. I wrote about my first council meeting in my blog in March, and the observations I made are a theme in this post.

I commented in March that the Council is responsible not only for the governance of the RCN but also for all four entities that comprise the RCN Group. Unlike a typical board, the executives do not have voting rights; Council members, in this respect, are the members' voice.

The RCN is a multi-million-pound organisation which brings significant governance responsibilities. As Council members, we have a range of expertise, particularly as a nurses and representing members interests, it's fair to say that collectively we don’t have expertise in running multi-million pound organisations the executive and specialist advisor, for example, the auditors provide Council with the information needed to enable us to make decisions in members interests and fulfil our roles responsibly.

A significant area of Council work since January, as with the last Council, is to implement the recommendations from the Carr and KPMG Governance Review reports and to bring governance in line with best practice, as we would with our clinical, educational, and research practices.

As a membership organisation, the AGM is where the Council presents some of its recommendations to the membership for their approval. This year's AGM on July 17, will consider resolutions that the Council has discussed and collectively agreed will improve the governance of the RCN. The resolutions include clarifying the role of the General Secretary, the need to set an Annual Budget and hold a special meeting if additional expenditure is required and to include some members of the executive fully as part of the Council, which are all in line with the external report recommendations and what Council members collectively recognise as good practice.

It's essential to note that the resolutions will not alter the authority of the Council, as the executive will still not have any voting rights. As we do when making nursing practice decisions, we need as many facts and perspectives as possible to make an informed decision; we require information. For the Council, this includes views from members, advice from the Congress Agenda, the Trade Union and the Professional Nursing Committee. As Council members, we then apply our critical thinking to make informed and effective decisions regarding member leadership and governance. The executive does not, and will not, have undue or inappropriate influence over the independently minded Council members as a result of the resolution. This will enable Council members to make decisions with consideration for the financial probity of the RCN group, the judicious use of members' money, and strategic choices. It ensures that the Council does not work in isolation from wide-ranging advice, but it will not change the fact that the elected Council members remain the decision-makers. The elected Council members have collectively agreed that the resolutions will enhance the governance of the Council, which is something members have been requesting for several years and something that the public would expect of us as a profession. I encourage all members to use their voices and vote on the resolutions. If you are unable to attend, you may vote by proxy. You can visit the AGM page to learn how to do this. Please don't waste your vote.

I will do my best to honour my election promises to be accessible and transparent. Please do not hesitate to contact me on this or other RCN matters; my RCN email address is sally.bassett@reps.rcn.org.uk