Election special

January 2026

On 9 January 2026 we will be starting our election for seats available on our Council of Governors. This ‘election special’ tells you everything you need to know about the election, what governors do and how to put yourself forward as a candidate or vote for another member.

About Us

Leeds and York Partnership is an NHS Foundation Trust.

This means that:

• We have some freedoms to decide locally how to meet our obligations
• We are accountable to local people, who can become members and governors
• We are authorised and monitored by NHS England, who support us and hold us to account

Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT) is the main provider of specialist mental health and learning disability services in Leeds. We also provide adult neurodiversity service in Leeds; we provide some specialist services across West Yorkshire and Humber & North Yorkshire, and we provide some highly specialised services across the North of England.

Council of Governors

The Council of Governors, collectively, is the body that binds a trust to its service users, staff, stakeholders and the wider public. The Council consists of 30 seats, made up of six appointed governors and 24 governors elected from the members of the Trust.

Governors represent the interests of members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public, contributing to the future direction of our Trust; holding the Non-executive Directors (collectively and individually) to account for the way our Board of Directors performs.

• A foundation trust has members including local people, service users, carers and staff
• Members choose governors to represent them on the Council of Governors
• When governor seats become vacant or governors are coming to the end of their term of office, we will look at holding an election, and any member in a constituency where we are holding an election can put themselves forward as a candidate
• Members in that constituency can then vote for a candidate to represent them on the Council of Governors

Passionate about the work of the Trust?

Become a governor and have your say

By becoming a governor you will:

• Hold the Non-executive Directors to account for the performance of the Board of Directors
• Represent the interests of members and the public in the communities that the Trust serves
• Work with the Board of Directors to help shape the Trust’s plans for the future
• Be involved in achieving the vision of leading the way in mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity care
• Appoint the external auditors
• Appoint and agree the remuneration for the Chair and Non-executive Directors
• Approve the appointment of the Chief Executive.

The following constituencies will be having elections in 2026:

If you’re not sure which constituency you are in, you can contact us on 07980 960035 or email lypft.governor@nhs.net to find out.

Want to put yourself forward for election?

Here’s how:

Public, service user and carer members will receive a Notice of Election in the post around 9 January 2026, inviting them to request and complete a nomination form if they want to stand for election. Staff will be advised of the election electronically.

The elections will be run on our behalf by an election company, the Civica Election Services.

• 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 6 February 2026.
• Alternatively, you can complete your nomination form online.
• You will need to provide a 250-word statement on your background and why you want to become a governor, including a recent photograph. This is all explained on the form.
• If there are fewer candidates than vacant seats in a constituency, they will automatically become a governor and so 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 Governors.
• Even if you don’t stand for election yourself, you can still have your say and vote for a candidate. Voting forms will be sent to members on 2 March 2026 and members have until 25 March 2026 to return their vote.
• Once voting has ended, we will contact all the successful and unsuccessful candidates on 26 March 2026. The successful candidates will then be invited to an induction event to help prepare for their role. The induction event will take place on the afternoon of 19 May 2026.

Meet the Chair of the Trust

“The role of a governor is an important one, providing a direct link between the Trust and local communities, staff and key partner organisations. As a governor you will represent the interests of your constituency, staff group or partner organisation.

In addition, as part of the Council of Governors, you will receive information from the Trust to enable you to seek assurance from the Non-executive Directors to account for the performance of the Board. You will have the opportunity to work with the Board of Directors to help shape the Trust’s plans for the future and therefore be directly involved in achieving the vision of providing outstanding mental health and learning disability services as an employer of choice.’’  

Merran McRae,

Chair of the Council of Governors and Chair of the Trust

Steps towards becoming a governor

• Step one: Members in constituencies with seats up for election will receive a Notice of Election by post on the 9 January 2026 and will then need to request a nomination form from the election company if they want to stand for election (staff members will be notified through internal communications).
• Step two: Completed nomination forms need to be received by the election company or submitted online by no later than the 6 February 2026.
• Step three: A list of candidates who are standing for election will be published on the Trust’s website on the 27 February 2026.
• Step four: If there are fewer candidates than vacant seats in a constituency, they will automatically become the governor in that seat. This is called being elected unopposed.
• Step five: For constituencies where there are more candidates than vacant seats, a ballot will be held and voting packs will be sent by post on 2 March 2026 to all members in that constituency.
• Step six: Members will have until 25 March 2026 to return their postal votes.
• Step seven: The election result will be provided to the Trust by the election company on the 26 March 2026.
• Step eight: Both successful and unsuccessful candidates will be notified on 26 March 2026. Following this we will publish details of successful candidates on our website.
• Step nine: Newly elected governors will be invited to attend a Governor Induction on 19 May 2026.
• Step ten: Role as governor begins.

Here are some of the things our Council of Governors and individual governors have done so far in the past year:

• Engaged with members at our Annual Members’ Day and fed back the work that has been undertaken throughout the previous year
• Attended service visits with our Non-executive Directors
• Observed meetings of the Board and its Sub-committees to observe the Non-executive Directors holding the Executive Directors to account
• Appointed the Trust’s External Auditors
• Reappointed two Non-executive Directors
• Reappointed the Chair of the Trust.
• Contributed to the development of the Trust’s five-year strategy

Am I eligible to become a governor?

To become a governor you must:

• Be over the age of 16
• Live in a designated constituency area
• Be a member (you can sign up for free here: https://secure.membra.co.uk/Join/Leeds)

You do not need to have any formal qualifications or previous experience to be a governor. We will provide all the help, training and support that you need to carry out the role of a governor.

How much time is required?

Governors are required to:

• Attend an induction session (half day)
• Attend three Council of Governors meetings per year (half a day each)
• Attend our Annual Members’ Meeting in September
• Attend governor training events
• Spend time preparing for any meetings that they attend

There are also the following optional involvement activities:

• Visiting services with members of the Board
• Observing meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees
• Joining the sub-committee of the Council, which focuses on the appointment and remuneration of Non-executive Directors
• Attending events within the Trust, in Leeds and across England.
• Attending governor training and networking sessions led by NHS Providers
• Becoming Lead Governor
• Joining stakeholder panels when we are recruiting senior managers in the Trust.

How to vote

All members in a constituency where we are holding a ballot will automatically receive a voting pack in the post. Just follow the instructions in the pack and send it back by the date shown to make sure your vote counts.

For more information on becoming a governor

1. You can visit our website:

Our Become a Governor page has lots of information about being a governor and the election process: https://www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk/get-involved/governors/become-a-governor/

2. You can email or call to request further information:

You can contact the Corporate Governance Team for an informal chat about the role by emailing lypft.governor@nhs.net or calling us on 07980 960035.

3. Write to us

You can also write to us at:

Corporate Governance Team
Trust Headquarters
St Mary’s House, Main House
St Mary’s Road
Potternewton
Leeds
LS7 3JX

We will be happy to help in whatever way we can.