Scope's governance
Scope was formed in 1952 as an incorporated charity and therefore has dual regulatory registration. The organisation is a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales under the Companies Acts, number 520866. Its Registered Office is at 6 Market Road, London N7 9PW. It is also a Charity registered with the Charity Commission, Charity No208231.
The overall governing body of Scope is its Board of Trustees. Followingthe changes to Scope's constitution which was approved by the membership at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 23 February 2008, candidates are voted on to the Board by members, via a nomination and selection process by the Nominations Committee, which is established to ensure that Scope maintains the optimum mix of skills and experience on the Board of Scope at the AGM, or may be co-opted by Trustees at their meetings of the Board of Trustees. Find out more about Membership.
The Board meets six times a year, and its major role is to give Scope purpose and direction and see that it makes progress towards its aim. Past Board (formerly Executive Council') minutes are available at Board of Trustees.
To achieve this, the Board must, in partnership with the senior management team, carry out the following: make sure Scope keeps to the law and obeys its own Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- see that Scope's finances are well managed
- employ and manage Scope's staff
- report on Scope's progress to others and make Scope accountable to the public
- ensure that the Council itself works well, review its performance and plans for its continuity.
To facilitate the smooth running of Scope, the Council has established a number of standing committees.
Governance Review
Following discussions at Executive Council in May and July 2006, Scope carried out a governance review over a 15-month period. During that time, Executive Council delegated the review to a Governance Working Group, which included selected trustees and an independent Chair, with specialist knowledge in the field of governance. The review included consultation with Scope members with updates circulated in mailings as well as opportunities for members to attend regional meetings. The Review was subject to further consideration by trustees after the proposal to adopt a new constitution was not carried at the Annual General Meeting in October 2008. However, further work was carried out with some of the Honorary Life members and regional meetings which resulted in a slightly amended constitution (which enshrined the proposal to establish a members forum known as the Scope Assembly) which was agreed unanimously by the trustees at their meeting of Executive Council in January 2008 and carried by the 96% majority of members at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 23 February 2008.
To learn more about Scope you can access the Annual Report and Accounts, which are available at http://www.scope.org.uk/publications/aboutscope.shtml.