Become a Governor

Foundation Trusts are based on membership with local people having a say through representation on a Council of Governors.

Why become a governor?

Have your say about local mental health and learning disability services
Influence who is on the Trust’s Board of Directors
Meet some great people and truly make a difference
Act as an ambassador for our Trust

Who can become a governor?

Anyone who is a member of the Trust and aged 16 years or over can stand for election as a Governor. Our Governors must also live in the designated constituency area.

Do I need any qualifications or experience to become a governor?

You do not need to have any formal qualifications or previous experience to be Governor, all you need is to have a passion for improving mental health and learning disability services within the NHS. We will provide all of the help, training and support that you need to carry out the role of a Governor.

How can I become a governor?

To become a governor, you must first be a member of the Trust, and then you must follow the election process. Please see further down this page for information on governor elections.

Will I be paid to be a governor?

Our governors are not paid, but we are happy to repay any expenses. Please see our Governor Expenses Procedure in the ‘downloads’ box on this page.

How much time is required to fulfill my role as a governor?

Governors are required to:

make themselves available to undertake any training that the Trust decides is necessary
be available to attend all four of our formal Council of Governors meetings (half a day each)
be available to attend our Annual Members Meeting in July (half a day)
attend our full day board to board workshop in September
spend time preparing for any meetings that they attend
be available to observe at our board sub-committee meetings to observe the work of the committee (optional)
spend time engaging with members

Governor elections

When will the next election be held?

The next election will be held in spring / summer 2019.

How do I stand for election?

To stand for election to be a governor you must first be a member of our Trust within a valid constituency. You will then need to be a member in one of the constituencies where there is a vacancy at the time we are running an election. Elections are run on our behalf by an election company and as a member you will automatically be informed when elections are to be held and given the chance to vote or stand for election. Members will then choose governors by voting for them to represent them on the Council of Governors.

The process is as follows:

public, service user, carer and staff members will receive a Notice of the Election in the post inviting them to request and complete a nomination form if they would like to stand for election
if you want to put yourself forward for election you will need to request a nomination form from the election company, fill it in and then return it to them by the deadline date
you will need to provide a 250 word statement on your background and why you want to become a governor, including a recent photograph
If there are fewer candidates than vacant seats in a constituency, they will automatically become a governor and there will be no need for a vote in that constituency
If there are more candidates than seats in a constituency, every member of that constituency will be sent a voting form, so they can vote for which candidate they want to represent them on the Council of Governor.