A decision was made at a Special Assembly meeting in October 2025 to amend RPS Regulations to enable the smooth transition towards becoming the Royal College of Pharmacy in 2026, and to hold elections for the Royal College such that its new model of governance can be populated (and to accommodate for any potential delay in formal approvals being secured). Following this decision the proposed amendments were published under a Gazette Notice which closed for receipt of comments on 19 December.

Seven respondents submitted their observations and comments for consideration, and these were carefully reviewed by the Chairs and Officers Group of the Society on behalf of the Assembly and three minor drafting changes have subsequently been incorporated into the final version that becomes effective on 22 December 2025. These related to wording in section 5.2.1 regarding the Treasurer role upon transition, section 7.4.2 to provide clarity regarding maximum terms and Appendix K now reflects the recently published election scheme.

Many comments received related to specific wording in the current regulations but which are not part of the proposed changes as drafted that support transition. They were, however, pertinent to consideration regarding the future set of regulations that the Royal College will operate under. These more fulsome set of regulations will be gazetted early in the new year for members to comment upon. Any comments so far received that relate more appropriately to this second gazette period will therefore be taken into consideration at that time.

We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has given time and attention to this set of draft regulations and hope that members will consider doing so when the second set of proposed amendments are gazetted in January.

Read the updated Regulations.