Ten vets vying for a place on council
The RCVS has revealed the names of 10 veterinary surgeons that are standing for election to the council this year.
Four existing council members - Mandisa Greene, Neil Smith, David Catlow and Susan Paterson - are eligible for re-election. The remaining six vets hoping to be elected are: John Davies, Karlien Heyrman, John Innes, Thomas Lonsdale, Matthew Plumtree and Iain Richards.
There will be no VN Council election this year owing to governance changes, which include a reduction in the number of elected members.
The college is currently still waiting for its Legislative Reform Order (LRO), which concerns changes to governance, to be approved. Under the current arrangements, six candidates will be elected to RCVS Council, but if the LRO completes the legislative process and is passed by the Houses of Parliament, only the three candidates with the most votes will take a place on council.
Biographies and candidate statements can be found at: www.rcvs.org.uk/vetvote18
Ballot papers and candidate details are being posted to all veterinary surgeons that are eligible to vote this week. The Electoral Reform Services will also send personalised emails with a link to their secure voting website for online votes. All votes must be cast by 5pm on 27 April 2018.
The college is inviting vets to ‘quiz the candidates’ by sending questions to all those standing for election. One question per vet can be emailed to vetvote18@rcvs.org.uk or tweeted using the hashtag #vetvote18.
Each candidate will pick two questions to answer and produce a video recording on their answers. Videos will be published on the RCVS website and YouTube channel.
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
