Short guide to the proposed Charter changes

RPS crest in dark greenWhat is the RPS Charter?

Our Royal Charter sets out the purpose of RPS and its governance structure. It is granted by the Monarch on the advice of the Privy Council. RPS was granted its Royal Charter in 1843 and it has been amended over time, most recently in 2010 when the RPS split from its regulatory function and became the professional body for pharmacy.

Why does it need changing?

Changes need to be made to the Charter to enable our proposals to update our governance structure and become the Royal College of Pharmacy.

These changes are designed to enable to RPS to operate more effectively in the future. By putting in place a new corporate structure with appropriate governance, we are ensuring the different functions that RPS carries out will have the right oversight and support the organisation in its quest for excellence and to be flexible to meet changing needs in future.

What are the main changes being proposed?

The proposed changes to our Royal Charter set out that:

  • RPS seeks to become a Royal College – the Royal College of Pharmacy
  • RPS seeks to become a charity
  • RPS creates a wholly owned (limited) subsidiary for the majority of its publishing activities.

The proposed changes to our Royal Charter would result in the following changes to our governance:

  • Under charity law, RPS must create a Trustee Board to run the charity, which will also take on all legal and financial responsibilities. These are currently the responsibility of the Assembly
  • The Assembly will retain its oversight on all professional matters, at a GB level. However, to recognise its changes in remit the Assembly will be renamed Senate
  • As health is a devolved issue, the National Pharmacy Boards will remain responsible for policy and be elected by the membership, however to avoid confusion in naming with the Trustee Board, these will be renamed National Councils.

Will my post-nominals change?

Yes, as a Royal College, our members will have new post-nominals that clearly specify membership of the Royal College of Pharmacy. Our current post-nominals would change to MRCPharm and FRCPharm.

What can I do next?

You can take a deeper dive into the Charter changes to understand the details. You can also take a look at our hub page to find all the information you need about our ambitions to become a Royal College.

When will RPS members be able to vote on the changes?

All full members [Members (MRPharmS) and Fellows (FRPharmS)] will be invited to vote on the proposed amends to our Royal Charter and on changing our name to the Royal College of Pharmacy. Voting will open at 9am on Thursday, 13 March and will close at 5pm on Monday 24 March 2025. This special resolution vote is being managed by Mi-Voice, who also run all of our elections, and they will send all eligible members individual voting instructions directly via email, SMS and if needed, also by post.

Anyone from the pharmacy community who wishes to take part in this historic vote to shape the future professional leadership body for pharmacy, must join and have paid to become a full member [a Member (MRPharmS) or Fellow (FRPharmS)] by Friday, 28 February 2025. Anyone who becomes a member after this date will not be eligible to vote. As with our elections, Associate Members and student members aren’t eligible to vote.