Changes to charter, statutes and rules approved by the Privy Council

The changes will allow us to refresh our membership grades and become a more transparent and accountable organisation, which offers a home to all who are interested in psychology.

Changes of this nature require us to seek both the approval of our members and of the Privy Council and, following more than 80 per cent of votes being in favour of all four resolutions at a member ballot held in February this year, the Privy Council has now formally approved them.

Some of the changes will take place immediately, including the ability to hold our Annual General Meeting virtually, which will allow more members to attend and mitigate the impact of planned strike action by rail staff on Wednesday 27 July.

It also means that the successful candidate in our recent President-Elect election will serve a term of two years, and the successful candidate in the Elected Trustee vote can take up their place on the Board of Trustees at the AGM.

Other changes, including to our membership grades, will come into effect in a phased way over the next few months.

These proposed changes include the introduction of 'Full member' and 'Associate member' grades to help make the BPS a home for more people who use psychology in their careers, and provide a smoother pathway through our grades for members as they progress.

There will also be positive changes to Associate Fellow and Fellowship designed to provide greater inclusivity. Members' current grades will be unaffected, and it will be a personal choice whether to move to a new grade once the new structure is in force.

We will keep members up-to-date as changes come into effect, and want to thank again everyone who voted earlier this year to help make this a reality.