Council, committees and boards

Council

The Council is the CIEH’s governing body. Its responsibilities include the approval of CIEH policy and the delegation of specific functions and duties to regions, boards and committees. 

We have 30 trustees elected to Council by our members.  Regions are allocated a number of trustees to represent them. 

The decisions of Council and its committees and boards have a direct impact on the strategies and plans followed by the CIEH.  This helps determine the activities of all employees. 

Council normally meets three times a year to discuss key strategies, policies and issues, including the consideration of papers from boards and committees.

Committees and boards

Resources Committee

The Resources Committee is responsible for determining financial policy and the management of the assets and resources of the CIEH. These responsibilities include personnel and the staffing, organisation and administration at our offices.

The work of this committee is supported by the activities of the Remuneration Panel and the Risk and Audit Committee.

The Remuneration Panel is responsible for determining gradings and job descriptions of all existing and new CIEH positions. It also considers requests from employees relating to gradings, job descriptions and job evaluations.

The Risk and Audit Committee is responsible for assessing risks and audits that relate to the work of the Resources Committee – an important aspect of our processes and governance.

Chadwick House Group Limited Board

The CHGL Board provides direction for our commercial activities and reports directly to Council. 

The board includes trustees and non-executive directors, who bring a broad range of commercial experience to assist with decision-making and strategy development.

A subset of board members and employees are also involved in the smaller divisional boards: Events Divisional Board, Training Divisional Board and Publishing Divisional Board. These boards meet to review and develop the organisation’s activities in their relevant areas of operation.

Policy Development Board

The Policy Development Board is responsible for determining our policy in all fields of environmental health. It is supported in its work by the CIEH policy team and an Expert Advisory Panel.

The Expert Advisory Panel comprises experts in particular areas of environmental and public health policy and practice, including housing, environmental protection, food safety and hygiene, pest management, and health and safety. Panel members may be asked to contribute their specific knowledge and experience to research, the development of policy statements or responses to government consultation documents. Some panel members are also CIEH trustees. 

Policy considerations for this board include regional, European and international issues. Linkage to regional policy is also provided through the CIEH directors for Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Education & Professional Standards Board

The Education & Professional Standards Board is responsible for dealing with, and keeping under review, all matters relating to the education, training, qualification and professional development of environmental health practitioners. This includes promoting research into environmental health issues and keeping routes to qualification under review.

Aspects of this work are supported by the Qualifications Board, the Education & Professional Development Committee and the Membership Committee.

Qualifications Board

The Qualifications Board deals with matters relating to the operation of the CIEH Professional Examinations and Practical Training assessment, in particular:

• Determining the form of the Professional Examinations and the pass criteria, and determining the results of the written papers and risk audit element of the Professional Examinations
• Accrediting courses of study which meet the CIEH’s requirements
• Keeping under review the core curriculum for qualifying courses to ensure it reflects current practice and legislation
• Approving the CIEH’s public sector qualifications and supporting systems. This includes monitoring and keeping under review the syllabi for existing qualifications and their assessment regimes and the integrity of the examination process

Education & Professional Development Committee

The Education & Professional Development Committee undertakes investigative and development work on education and professional development issues, in particular:

• Overseeing the operation of the Assessment of Professional Development scheme, the Continuing Professional Development scheme and the chartered status scheme
• Promoting research into aspects of environmental health practice and overseeing the publication of refereed research papers
• Promoting the provision of low-cost training for CIEH members

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee’s key activities are:

• Dealing with matters relating to admission (and re-admission) to membership, withdrawal of (and resignations from) membership, and qualifications and criteria for membership including grades and election to Fellow
• Keeping under review the Charter and Byelaws, Standing Orders and other CIEH Regulations
• Keeping under review the procedures for disciplinary action against members and ensuring that disciplinary matters are dealt with correctly