NNEF: Terms of Reference

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National Needle Exchange Forum (NNEF)

Terms of Reference

Amended on 4 April 2008

1 Role

1.1 The role of the National Needle Exchange Forum (NNEF) is to actively promote and support the provision of high quality, comprehensive needle exchange services as a key part of the United Kingdom drugs strategy.

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2 Aims

2.1 To identify and promote good practice in the development and delivery of needle exchange services.

2.2 To influence policy-makers and partner agencies, in order to ensure that the philosophy of harm reduction remains central to public health policy in the United Kingdom.

2.3 To raise awareness and promote understanding of the role of needle exchange services.

2.4 To establish and maintain a communication network for members of the Forum.

2.5 To initiate and facilitate open, informed discussion and debate.

2.6 To provide expert advice on issues related to needle exchange services and injecting drug use.

2.7 To promote and support links with relevant national and international organisations.

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3 Membership

3.1 Membership is free of charge.

3.2 Full membership is open to:
i. Any individual whose work involves the provision or development of needle exchange services;
ii. Representatives of needle exchange services Service User Groups;
iii. Non-commercial organisations which have a professional interest in needle exchange services, and which support the role and purpose of the Forum.

3.3 Commercial organisations may apply for associate membership, which will be subject to the agreement of the Planning Group. Associate members will be entitled to attend meetings of the Forum. They will not have the right to vote, and their representatives may not hold office in the Forum.

3.4 The NNEF is also committed to engaging with those who use needle exchange services, through encouraging and supporting (where possible) their participation in meetings and discussions, and through partnerships with service user groups.

3.5 Members who neither attend, nor send apologies to, three consecutive meetings of the Forum will be assumed to have resigned, and will be removed from the mailing list.

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4 Constitution

4.1 The Forum will aim to meet at least twice a year. It is desirable that at least one of these meetings should be held outside of London.

4.2 An Annual General Meeting will be held once every calendar year. This may be held as part of one of the regular meetings. Members will be given at least one calendar month’s notice of the Annual General Meeting.

4.3 These Terms of Reference shall be subject to a formal annual review by the Planning Group. Any amendments to the Terms of Reference must be approved by an Annual General Meeting.

4.4 Whenever possible, decisions of the Forum will be made by consensus. If opinion is divided a vote may be taken, and a motion will normally be carried by a simple majority of those attending and voting. At the discretion of the Chair, a vote by post or e-mail may be called of all the full members who are on the current mailing list.

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5 Secretariat

5.1 DrugScope will act as the Forum Secretariat. This will include taking minutes of meetings, and distributing minutes, agendas and other papers to the members. The Forum membership list will remain the property of the NNEF.

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6 Election of Forum Officers

6.1 Chair, Deputy Chair and Treasurer will be elected by Forum members. These positions may be job shared (e.g. Co-Chairs), in which case the normal rules of nomination/elections apply.

6.2 An election of these Officers will be held once every three years, or sooner if required by resignation or other exceptional circumstances, and will take place at the Annual General Meeting. Each individual and organisational member (excluding associate members) will be entitled to one vote.

6.3 Nominations for election will be invited from the Forum membership, not less than two weeks prior to the AGM. In the event of a contest for any post, voting will be by show of hands among those members attending the AGM.

6.4 During their term of office, the Officers will be expected to report to the membership as a whole on any activities they carry out on behalf of the Forum. Any Officer may be removed by a vote of no confidence, a written resolution for which, signed by not less than ten full members, must be deposited with the Secretariat not less that four weeks before the next scheduled meeting of the Forum. Any full member may instigate a vote of no confidence.

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7 NNEF Planning Group

7.1 The Forum Planning Group will consist of the elected officers, together with a further group of approximately ten additional members. As far as possible, these additional members should represent different geographical areas. There will not be a formal election for these positions, but all members of the Planning Group must be approved by a meeting of the Forum, and their names recorded in the minutes.

7.2 The role of the Planning Group will be to carry forward the aims of the Forum between meetings. It will seek to represent the views and interests of the membership as a whole. Decisions taken by the Planning Group will be reported to the membership at the next full meeting of the Forum.

7.3 Other members of the Forum may volunteer, or be invited by the Planning Group, to contribute to the work of the Forum on specific issues.

7.4 The role of the planning group is further detailed in appendix 1 (Role of NNEF Planning Group).

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8 Commercial Organisations

8.1 The Forum welcomes sponsorship of its activities by appropriate commercial organisations. The Forum will facilitate and promote a dialogue with companies in the field, in order to improve the availability of suitable products for use by needle exchange services.

8.2 As described above, commercial organisations may apply for associate membership of the Forum.

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Appendix 1

Role of the Planning Group

1 Commitment to membership of the Planning Group

Anyone considering involvement in the Planning Group should consider how much time and energy they can devote to it. The roles of Chair and Deputy can be particularly time-consuming.

The main responsibility for achieving the aims of the Forum falls on the elected officers. It is hoped that the above tasks can be shared equitably between them.

Financial matters will chiefly be the responsibility of the Treasurer. Governance of financial matters will chiefly be the responsibility of the Treasurer, who is custodian of the Forum’s bank account documentation.

The other members of the Planning Group can take on specific tasks in support of these aims. Before you put someone’s name forward for election, please ensure they are willing to be nominated.

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2 Responsibilities of Planning Group

• Organising meetings of the Forum, including arranging speakers, venues and refreshments.
• Representing the Forum at meetings with public bodies (e.g. NTA or Department of Health), and reporting back to the membership.
• Responding to consultation papers on behalf of the Forum.
• Ensuring that decisions made at meetings of the Forum are implemented.
• Seeking commercial sponsorship for meetings.
• Applying to public bodies for funding.
• Liaison with DrugScope.

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3. Future considerations of the Planning Group

• The Forum has operated for many years as a purely voluntary and unfunded group.
• It is now proposed to seek funding, either for a paid organiser, or to compensate the employer of one or more of the officers for the time involved in running the Forum.
• This will involve an input of time in preparing applications, and if these are successful, in managing any funds obtained.

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Planning group members as of 4 April 2008 are: (e = elected officer)

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