The change to Rule 12 in 2018 ("The first subscription is to be paid on the date of his/her registration as a Member and then paid annually. Payment may be made by Standing Order or through the PayPal system") has meant that the requirements of Rule 9, sub-paras (a) and (b) have forced a time-consuming and onerous duty on the person managing the administration of membership subscriptions, simply because payments might be due at any time and no longer just on 1 April each year. Furthermore, it was deemed no longer appropriate to have such a lengthy grace period, considering the other legitimate opportunities for members to avoid payment of a subscription.
Rule 9 sub-para (a) shall be amended to read:
"... If the subscription of a Full or Associate Member remains only partially paid by one calendar month from the date it becomes due, membership privileges shall be restricted ..."
and Rule 9 sub-para (b) shall be amended to read:
... If (i) the subscription of a Full or Associate Member remains unpaid by one calendar month from the date it becomes due ...
This Byelaw becomes effective immediately.
Bye-Law 01/2023/24 was incorporated in the Rules at AGM 2024 on 22 June 2024
The Association has for many years enjoyed a close affiliation with the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum (RAFADRM) at RRH Neatishead and, for over 10 years, has been in the position of nominating a Trustee to assist in the governance of that organisation. More recently, that nominated Trustee has taken on new responsibilities within a governance structure that is itself changing, thus there is a demand to formalise the relationship within the Association's own Rules.
The following amendments/additions to the Rules shall be made:
Amend Rule 17, sub-paragraph f. to read "The RAF Air Defence Radar Museum (RAFADRM) Liaison Member.".
Re-number Rule 50 to be "Rule 51".
Insert new Rule 50, to read "Committee Terms of Reference.".
Under new Rule 50, insert sub-paragraph a. to read "RAFADRM Liaison Member.".
Under new Rule 50, sub-paragraph a., insert:
"(1) The RAFADRM Liaison Member may fill the position of a Trustee on the RAFADRM Board and take on associated governance responsibilities/roles as agreed between the RAFADRM Board and the RAFADRM Liaison Member.
(2) The RAFADRM Liaison Member shall act as the (informal) link between the Association and the RAFADRM.
(3) The RAFADRM Liaison Member will be a full party to the workings of both organisations and shall respect all consequent confidentialities."
This Bye-Law (issued by Committee on 29 November 2023) shall become effective immediately.
Bye-Law 04/2019/20 was incorporated in the Rules at AGM 2021
It has been accepted for many years that the Chairman is Primus inter Pares on the Committee, which contradicts the assumption of Rule 17 - as it stands - that all the Officers of the Association, including the President, are members of the Committee. As the President is the head of the Association, it follows that s/he should not be a member of the Committee.
The following amendments/additions to the Rules shall be made:
Amend Rule 13, sub-paragraph a.(1) to read "The President, who shall be the non-executive head of the Association.".
Amend Rule 17, sub-paragraph a. to read "The Chairman, The Vice-Chairman, The Treasurer and The Secretary, as Officers of the Association.".
Add Rule 17A: "The President shall be invited to attend Committee meetings in a non-voting, advisory capacity.".
This Bye-Law (issued by Committee on 20 October 2020) gives immediate effect to revised Rules 13 and 17 and new Rule 17A.
Bye-Law 03/2019/20 was incorporated in the Rules at AGM 2021
At the Association's Committee meeting on 20 December 2019 it was agreed to formally reinstate the role of Vice-Chair as an Officer of the Association, specifically as the senior serving officer on the Committee and notwithstanding the decision made at AGM 2017 to remove the post. Given the significant changes in the RAF’s Branch structure in recent years and their impact on the Space and Battlespace Management Force, it was good fortune that found the current Deputy Force Commander to be an Association member; the incumbent - Group Captain John Booth - was thus co-opted to undertake the Vice-Chair role in accordance with Rule 20. As the Constitution was not amended in 2017, the Vice-Chair role remains supported by Article 9.
The following amendments to the Rules shall be made:
Rule 13, paragraph a, amend ‘(4) The Secretary’ to be ‘(5) The Secretary’, ‘(3) The Treasurer’ to be ‘(4) The Treasurer’ and insert ‘(3) The Vice-Chairman’ above ‘(4) The Treasurer’.
Rule 14, amend paragraph ‘b. The Deputy Treasurer shares some of the Treasurer's responsibility...’ to read ‘c. The Deputy Treasurer shares some of the Treasurer's responsibility…’.
Rule 14, insert paragraph b: ‘The position of Vice-Chairman shall be held by a serving member of the Association who is also a senior officer (at group captain or wing commander level) in a post whose professional responsibilities are consistent with the Association’s eligibility requirements of Rule 2. In view of the Association’s inability to tie the post of Vice-Chair to any specific RAF post, succession planning shall regularly consider the suitability of posts held by senior serving Association members, accepting that the position of Vice-Chairman may become temporarily vacant.
Amend Rule 33 to read 'In the Chairman's unavoidable absence, the President or the Vice-Chairman of the Committee shall take the chair. If neither of these officers the Vice-Chairman is not available, then another Officer of the Association shall chair the Meeting’.
This Bye-Law (issued by Committee on 19 August 2020) shall become effective on 20th August 2020 at 0001 hours.
Bye-Law 02/2019/20 was incorporated in the Rules at AGM 2021
The situation caused by the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and the Association must respond accordingly, as far as adherence to the Constitution and Rules goes. To be precise, Article 14 of the Constitution requires the Association to hold a meeting of all members, known as the Annual General Meeting, each year. When Article 14 was written in 1991, it was probably not envisaged that there would come a time when such a meeting could not be held in any one calendar year, but the Association needs now to take such a scenario into account, amending both Rules and the Constitution to allow for such exceptional circumstances.
Article 14 of the Constitution to be amended, adding after ‘Committee’ “, but in accordance with the Rules where a meeting in one or more years may be prevented by extenuating circumstances”.
After Rule 31 shall be added “Rule 31A. Notwithstanding Article 14 of the Constitution, if extenuating circumstances dictate, the Committee shall postpone or cancel an annual meeting of the Association and inform the membership of the reason. Simultaneously, the Secretary shall distribute to the membership copies of the accounts that would have been discussed and approved (or rejected) at the meeting had it not been cancelled or postponed. If such meeting cannot be held within the intended calendar year, the Committee shall make arrangements for the next meeting to be held as early as possible in the following calendar year; it will though not be necessary for multiple meetings to be held in any one calendar year.”
This Bye-Law (issued by Committee on 26 June 2020) takes effect immediately where the amendment to the Rules is concerned, in accordance with Rule 48.
Bye-Law 01/2019/20 was incorporated in the Rules at AGM 2021
Rule 24 has long provided for annual checks of the accounts of the Association's funds, but a difficulty, caused primarily by the absence of a vice-Chairman, has arisen in recent years preventing the timely accomplishment of the intended task. The Committee has decided to extend the pool of available individuals to include all Committee members and not just the Officers. Rule 24 will, on endorsement at AGM 2020, read:
Rule 24. The accounts of the funds of the Association shall be subject to an independent check annually, as soon as possible after the end of the financial year of the Association (31 March), by 2 members of the Committee of the Association other than the Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer.
This Bye-Law (issued by Committee on 15 October 2019) gives immediate effect to that revised Rule 24.
Bye-Law 01/2014/15 was incorporated in the Rules at AGM 2015
At AGM 13, the Association made the decision to increase the annual subscription from £10 p.a. to £15 p.a., the increase to take effect from 1 April 2014. Towards the end of 2013, a campaign of informative communication was commenced, the aim of which was to give paying members of the Association every opportunity and every assistance to make the necessary changes to each individual's standing order mandate. The result of the campaign was that, shortly after the start of the Association's new financial year, the vast majority of Association members had made the amendment, but that some had either cancelled the standing order - thereby paying nothing - or not amending it - thereby making the same payment as in previous years. While the proportion of the membership that had complied with the Committee's request far outstripped the assumptions that had been promulgated in the Business Plan, it has been felt necessary to do everything possible to persuade the 'stragglers' to make the necessary changes. Nevertheless, it was also appreciated that to apply Rule 9 in its absolute form to those yet to make the amendment was somewhat draconian and contrary to the principles of the Association.
Rather than 'evict' someone not meeting the requirements of Rule 9, then, it has been decided that s/he should remain a member and receive routine correspondence and newsletters, but have only limited access to the website and not be permitted to book for or attend an Association function until s/he had provided evidence that the correct in-year payment had been made and that a revised standing order was in force for subsequent years. The Committee would continue to attempt to bring those affected by this Bye-law back into the fold, but those continuing to pay £10 at each subscription renewal would remain so affected until the correct payment has been made or the individual has chosen to cancel membership.
This Bye-law (issued by Committee on xx mmmm yyyy) takes effect immediately on publication.