18 March 2021
The IFoA Council recently approved changes designed to streamline, improve efficiency and independence of our regulatory governance arrangements. A new Regulatory Board will be created which will have responsibility for all aspects of our public interest regulatory role.
Previously, the delivery of these matters was carried out by three boards including the Regulation Board, Disciplinary Board and the Lifelong Learning Board.
The creation of one senior board will help to drive operational efficiency. As with the current Regulation Board, it will operate independently to ensure that we are able to demonstrate the profession’s commitment to progressive regulation in the public interest. A member of Council will continue to be appointed to the Regulatory Board to maintain an important formal link with Council.
The Chair of the Regulatory Board will also continue to work closely with the Presidential Team, to help ensure that regulation is responsive to and providing real value to members, upholding standards and maintaining the reputation of the profession.
Proposed amendments to the Disciplinary and Capacity for Membership Scheme
The formal amendments will;-
- Improve clarity, by removing relevant governance provisions from the Disciplinary Scheme itself. Governance provisions will be published in the IFoA’s Governance Manual, publically available on the IFoA’s website.
- Abolish the Disciplinary Board (responsible for policy level oversight of the disciplinary process but not for deciding disciplinary cases). This oversight responsibility will transfer to the new Regulatory Board, supported by a smaller Disciplinary Committee, which will report to it.
- Enable changes to be made to the remit of the Disciplinary Appointments Committee, which will be renamed as the Independent Regulatory Appointments Committee and be responsible for appointments to the new Regulatory Board (rather than, as currently, the Disciplinary Board).
It is important to note that these changes do not change the process by which disciplinary cases are considered and decided. This process is currently subject to review and we will consult separately on more substantive improvements next year.
Separately, a formal amendment is proposed to the definition of ‘Member’ to remove affiliates from the scope of the Disciplinary and Capacity for Membership Schemes. As Affiliates are not actuarial members it is not considered proportionate or in the public interest for the Scheme to apply to them.
To facilitate these changes, some formal amendments are required to the Disciplinary and Capacity for Membership Schemes. All members will be asked to vote on the amendments and will receive an email from Civica Election Services with a link to an online vote at the end of March.
If you have any questions about the changes or upcoming member vote, please contact kirsten.mavor@actuaries.org.uk.