Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by section 1(2) of, and paragraphs 3(1) and (3) and 5 of Schedule 1 to, the Medical Act 1983(1), and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, in pursuance of a representation made to Her Privy Council by the General Medical Council(2), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the General Medical Council (Constitution) Amendment Order 1996 and shall come into force on 1st November 1996 (apart from Article 3 which shall come into force on 31st October 1996).

(2) In this Order, “the Constitution Order” means the General Medical Council (Constitution) Order 1979(3).

Amendment of the Constitution Order

2.—(1) The Constitution Order is amended as follows.

(2) In article 2 (constitution of the General Council)—

(a)in paragraph (b), for “35” substitute “25”; and

(b)in paragraph (c), for “13” substitute “25”.

(3) In article 5 (universities and other bodies empowered to choose appointed members), for paragraph (2) substitute—

“(2) Each university or other body listed in one of the groups in column 1 of the Schedule to this Order is designated as an appointing body and shall, in combination with each other university or body so listed in that group, choose the number of appointed members listed against that group in column 2 of that Schedule.”.

(4) For the Schedule, substitute—

Article 5.

“SCHEDULEUNIVERSITIES AND OTHER BODIES EMPOWERED TO CHOOSE APPOINTED MEMBERS

Column 1
Column 2

Appointing Bodies
Number of Members to be Appointed

Group 1
15

University of Aberdeen
The Queen’s University of Belfast
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
University of Dundee
University of Edinburgh
University of Glasgow
University of Leeds
University of Leicester
University of Liverpool
University of London
University of Manchester
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
University of Nottingham
University of Oxford
University of Sheffield
University of Southampton
University of Wales
Society of Apothecaries of London

Group 2
10

Royal College of Anaesthetists
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Royal College of Pathologists
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Royal College of Physicians of London
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Radiologists
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Faculty of Occupational Medicine
Faculty of Public Health Medicine”

Termination of office of existing appointed members

3.  Subject to article 4(2) of the Constitution Order, appointed members of the General Council holding office on 31st October 1996 shall cease to hold office at the end of that day.

N. H. Nicholls
Clerk of the Privy Council

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order, made under the Medical Act 1983, amends the General Medical Council (Constitution) Order 1979 (referred to in this Order as the “Constitution Order”).
Article 2(2) of this Order provides for the number of appointed members of the General Medical Council to be reduced from 35 to 25, and for the maximum number of nominated members to be increased from 13 to 25, with effect from 1st November 1996.
By Article 2(3) and (4), the arrangements for appointing the appointed members are also altered: from 1st November 1996, the two groups of appointing bodies set out in the Schedule to the Constitution Order, as substituted by this Order, will respectively appoint 15 and 10 members (before that date each appointing body appointed one member, apart from the University of London, which appointed three).
Article 3 provides that all the appointed members holding office on 31st October 1996 cease to hold office at the end of that day.


(1)
1983 c. 54.

(2)
See paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Medical Act 1983.

(3)
S.I. 1979/112, amended by S.I. 1987/457 and 1989/496.