UKCP to hold Board of Trustees removal election

UKCP’s Board of Trustees strongly believes that conversion therapy is harmful and must not be practised regardless of the client’s age. 

Following the decision to leave the MoU and the Coalition Against Conversion Therapy, UKCP has committed to establishing guidelines that meet the distinct needs of counselling and psychotherapy professionals. 

UKCP wants to see more detailed guidance that considers the complexities of working therapeutically with children and young people and is now in discussion with other counselling and psychotherapy organisations about consulting on and drawing up new guidelines with a focus on being psychotherapeutically informed and led. 

In developing the new guidance, UKCP will consult with professionals who work with children and young people during this process, along with LGBTQIA+ UKCP members and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

UKCP remains open to discussions with the Coalition Against Conversion Therapy and working with the Coalition to review the MoU to address our concerns. We would also be open to rejoining the Coalition and signing a revised MoU in the future.  

You can read about UKCP’s reasons for leaving the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK v2 (MoU) in these statements: 

UKCP update on conversion therapy (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

Conversion therapy clarification (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

UKCP withdrawal from MoU on conversion therapy (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

The Board of Trustees is currently made up of seven trustees – six psychotherapy professionals and one lay member. 

You can find out who the trustees are on our website here: People | UKCP (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

David Fitzgerald, a lay member of the Board, recently stood down from his role. He held the position of treasurer, and this position will be filled in due course. 

Before voting opens the trustees will be given an opportunity to share information about themselves on our website and they will also take part in a live event on Monday 17 June. If you would like to attend the event, please book your place here: Hear from the UKCP Board of Trustees.  

The UKCP Board of Trustees carries out key functions for UKCP, such as overseeing fulfilment of the charity’s objectives and setting UKCP’s strategy, budget and fees. 

The trustees are responsible for providing strategic leadership and governance to the organisation.  

They act as both trustees to the charity and are also company directors. Duties include setting the overall direction and policies, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and overseeing the financial health and sustainability of UKCP. 

The trustees hold the legal obligation to ensure UKCP operates in line with Charity Commission regulations and the Companies Act 2006. The Board appoints and monitors the performance of the chief executive officer (CEO), ensuring that the organisation's operations align with its mission and values. They also engage with stakeholders across UKCP and externally, uphold ethical standards and ensure UKCP effectively supports its members and promotes high standards of practice in psychotherapy. 

All trustee roles are unpaid, apart from the role of Chair of Trustees which receives a small honorarium. 

A removal election is a formal process that allows UKCP members to vote on whether to retain or remove individuals from their positions on the Board of Trustees.  

In UKCP’s Articles of Association a removal election can be triggered through a petition signed by 2% of the voting membership or by a vote of 75% of the Members Forum. 

The current removal election was triggered after a petition was received which reached the threshold of being signed by 2% of the voting membership. The petition states that all members of the Board should be subject to a removal election, therefore voting members will be asked to vote on whether to remove the entire current Board of Trustees or to keep them all in their positions.  

A valid petition requesting a removal election takes place has been received by UKCP. The petition has been signed by more than 2% of the voting membership, the threshold set out in UKCP’s Articles of Association for a removal election to be triggered. 

The petition was assembled by Therapists Against Conversion Therapy and Transphobia (TACTT) in response to the Board of Trustee’s decision to withdraw UKCP’s signature from the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK V2 (MoU) and its membership of the Coalition Against Conversion Therapy. You can read more about the Board's decision to leave the MoU in these statements: 

UKCP update on conversion therapy (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

Conversion therapy clarification (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

UKCP withdrawal from MoU on conversion therapy (psychotherapy.org.uk) 

If the election results in the removal of all trustees, new elections will be held to fill the vacant positions. However, it will take at least three months to appoint new trustees. 

The trustees will stay in post until new trustee appointments have been made. They will only carry out essential duties during this time to keep UKCP functioning. 

UKCP has voluntarily made a serious incident report to the Charity Commission as a precautionary measure in the event that the removal election leaves the charity without a Board of Trustees, for example if replacement trustees are not elected/appointed within a reasonable timeframe. 

You can find out more about serious incident reporting here: How to report a serious incident in your charity - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

When voting opens on Thursday 20 June all eligible voting members will receive an email from Civica Election Services. This will include a link to vote. You will be asked to vote on whether to keep the entire current Board of Trustees in place or to remove them all from their positions, as set out in the resolution below. 

The Board resolves to hold a vote on 20 June – 3 July 2024 on the question of whether the current members of the Board of trustees should all be removed from office. In the event of a successful vote for removal, any removal shall not take effect until the appointment of replacement trustees as necessary. The appointment of replacement trustees shall be done in accordance with the procedure in Article 15 of UKCP's Articles of Association. 

Membership categories eligible to vote are:  

• Full clinical 
• Full non-clinical 
• Full organisational members 

Civica Election Services will be carrying out the election on behalf of UKCP. They will send an email on Thursday 20 June to all members who are eligible to vote in UKCP elections. 

The email will include a link which will direct you to the online voting area. 

Membership categories eligible to vote are:  

• Full clinical 
• Full non-clinical 
• Full organisational members 

Not all UKCP members are eligible to vote in elections. According to UKCP’s Byelaws, students, trainees, retired and affiliate members do not receive a vote in any UKCP election. Members on sabbatical are also ineligible to vote. 

You can read the petition from TACTT here: UKCP's recent withdrawal from the MoU2 on conversion therapy (openletter.earth)