The Community Group of the British Orthodontic Society Constitution

1. Title

The Community Group (CG) of the British Orthodontic Society.The Group will be bound by the constitution of the British Orthodontic Society (BOS), and nothing in the Group constitution will over-rule the constitution of the BOS.

2. Status

2.1 All matters concerning negotiation with national bodies will be referred to the Board of Trustees of BOS.
2.2 The Chairman and Secretary of BOS or a deputy, will be, ex-officio members of Group Committee.
2.3 All members of the Group will be members of the British Orthodontic Society.
2.4 The Group will conduct all correspondence under its full title as the Community Group of the British Orthodontic Society.
2.5 All correspondence with outside bodies will be copied to the Chairman and Secretary of BOS.

3. Membership

Membership of the Community Group shall be open to BOS Members holding a Salaried Primary Dental Care Service orthodontic appointment and whose names are entered on the General Dental Council’s Specialist List in Orthodontics.

4. Committee and officers

4.1 The affairs of the Group shall be managed by the Group Committee.
4.2 The Committee will comprise the three Officers (Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) and not more than five ordinary committee members who shall represent the Group on BOS Committees and Royal College Committees.
4.3 Where necessary, members may be co-opted to serve on the committee. Where members are co-opted to serve as members of BOS Committees, the co-option will normally be for the duration of the term of office on that committee. Co-opted members may be invited to attend CG committee meetings but will not be voting members.

5. Election of committee and officers

5.1 Committee members will normally be elected for a four-year term but will be eligible for re-election. Nominations for election of Officers and Committee members shall be sought in advance and be open to any Ordinary Member of the Group, proposed and seconded by other Group Members.
5.2 Election of the Chairman shall be by postal ballot of the Group membership, with the result of the ballot announced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Chairman’s term of office will normally be four years commencing January 1st following election. The Chairman may not be re-elected to serve a consecutive period except at the discretion of the Board of Trustees of the Society.
5.3 The Secretary shall be elected at the AGM. The Secretary’s term of office will normally be four years. The Secretary will be eligible for re-election for a second term.
5.4 The Treasurer shall be elected at the AGM, normally for a four-year term, but will be eligible for re-election.
The Chairman will be a member of the Group Chair Forum of BOS during their term of office.

6. Aims

6.1 To promote the provision of a Salaried Primary Dental Care Service specialist orthodontic service for the benefit of the public in order to promote the increased availability of orthodontic advice and treatment for disadvantaged and priority groups.
6.2 To encourage the raising of standards in the Salaried Primary Care Specialist Orthodontic Service particularly with reference to future appointments being made in line with current national standards for orthodontic specialists.
6.3 To improve communication between Community Orthodontists and with other sections of the orthodontic community, with other dental colleagues and with other healthcare providers.
6.4 To participate in research and survey work, particularly to assess orthodontic needs and to monitor trends.
In pursuance of the above aims, the group shall hold meetings, report to its members and produce such publications as the committee shall consider necessary.

7. Finances

7.1 The subscription for a Group member is included in the annual subscription fee paid to the British Orthodontic Society.
7.2 The Group works within an annual budget allocated from BOS central funds and the Group accounts are held by BOS. The CG Treasurer shall be responsible for overseeing the financial transactions of the Group and shall present at every Group AGM, or at other times (given reasonable notice) required by the Committee, an accurate report and statement of the Group finances for the current year. Any monies accumulated by the Group shall be transferred to the Society’s funds, except with the explicit agreement of the BOS Trustees.

8. Meetings
The Annual General Meeting of the group shall be held each year. A period of not more than fifteen months shall normally pass between Annual General Meetings.

9. Notices
Notices regarding meetings of the Group shall be sent to each member by post, and additionally by email where available, not less than fourteen days before the date appointed for the meeting. Any accidental omission to send such notices or the non-receipt of the same shall not invalidate any proceedings or resolution at the meeting.

10. Alteration of rules
No alterations to this constitution may be made except at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting (SGM) for the purpose. No amendments shall be made without the prior written permission of the Charities Commission to clauses 6, 7 and 10. Alterations to the Constitution shall receive the assent of two thirds of the members present and voting at an AGM or SGM.

11. Dissolution
The Group may be dissolved by a resolution presented in a SGM called for the purpose.The resolution must have the assent of two thirds of those present and voting. Any Group assets extant at the time of dissolution shall be transferred to the Board of Trustees for reallocation as appropriate.

12. Definition
The term “Community Orthodontist” includes any Primary Care based Salaried Specialist Orthodontist. At the time of writing this includes Community Dental Service based orthodontist, those in salaried personal Dental Service schemes, those employed by Primary Care Trusts and those working in hospitals under a SPDCS or equivalent contract.