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GENERAL COUNCIL 2021
The annual general meeting of the General Council of the Ramblers will take place on Saturday 17 April 2021 from 11am to 3.30pm. Formal notice and meeting papers has been sent to individual Council members by email and post.
Members will be able to attend the meeting by Zoom videoconference. Please note that the AGM itself will be only be open to Council members. We intend to record the meeting and make this available on our website after the event. Please contact simon.kellas@ramblers.org.uk if you have not registered as an Area-appointed Council member.
Update (12 April)
Trustee elections - candidate video
Since publication of the papers two candidates – Chris Hodgson and Grant Winstock – have withdrawn from the trustee elections. The process for the two possible options for the second stage of voting is unaffected. Information about the candidates, including statements, can be found in the AGM papers at item 6.
To support the written statements, and noting the we are unable to hold our usual 'hustings', a short video (16 minutes) with statements from each of the eleven candidates has been created. Please do take time to hear what the candidates have to say and why they would like to be trustees. We asked all the candidates to focus on the following question: What do you think is the key to how the Ramblers remains (or becomes) essential for walkers across the country?
NB Candidates are presented in the following order, with their name and the position they are standing for shown during the video.
Chair, board of trustees • Rebecca Dawson • Dr Peter Rookes Ordinary member (3-year term) • Mark Chung • Ronnie Forbes • Kamaljit Healy • Anne Jones • Rajan Madhok • Malcolm McDonnell • Audrey Osler • Lucy Robinson Ordinary member (1-year term) • Kate Ashbrook
GC 2021 papers
If you have any questions about General Council, please feel free to contact our governance manager, Simon Kellas, at simon.kellas@ramblers.org.uk.
General Council 2020
The rearranged Ramblers’ AGM took place on 15 September as a short broadcast-only online meeting, with Council members having formally participated and voted in advance by appointing the chair as their proxy and submitting a proxy form ahead of the meeting. These particular arrangements were required given ongoing social distancing requirements, and guided by general advice from Companies House and the Charity Commission as well as professional legal advice, particularly in light of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020. Over 100 people joined the online meeting and 103 Council members participated by appointing a proxy and voting on the formal business.
Informal Zoom session to discuss 2020 motions
As we were unable to hold a formal motions debate at our AGM this year, Council members were invited to join a Zoom meeting on 19 November to discuss the nine motions submitted by Areas this year. The session was chaired by Kate Ashbrook, with trustees and members of the senior leadership in attendance along with around 45 members. This was an informal discussion session and did not replicate our usual General Council debate format as set out in the standing orders.
About General Council
Our annual general meeting is commonly referred to as General Council.
Each Ramblers Area, and each national organisation affiliated to us, is entitled to appoint members of General Council. Whilst our Groups and individual members are not directly represented, they can influence the policy of the Ramblers via their Area's Council members. Trustees, our president, vice presidents and members of the Motions Review Committee are also members of General Council.
General Council elects the board of trustees which runs the organisation on behalf of members and for the public benefit. Council considers the annual report and accounts and provides guidance on policy by debating policy motions. It also approves changes to our constitution.
Ramblers is a company limited by guarantee, and General Council is the body of people who are defined as company members for Companies Act and other legal purposes. Members of General Council are entitled to attend the annual general meeting, but remain company members at other times.