The Role of the Chair

The Chair is responsible for the operation of the Board, Chairs all Board meetings when present and facilitates the effective contribution of all Executive and Non-Executive Directors. The Chair ensures effective communication with patients, members, clients, staff and other stakeholders.

It is the Chair's role to:

• provide leadership to the Board;
• enable all Board members to make a full contribution to the Board's affairs and ensure that the Board acts as a team;
• ensure that key and appropriate issues are discussed by the Board in a timely manner;
• work in close harmony with the Chief Executive to ensure the Board has adequate support and is provided efficiently with all the necessary data on which to base informed decisions regarding all the key and appropriate issues to be discussed by the Board;
• call meetings of the Board;
• give a final ruling on questions of order, relevancy and regularity of meetings;
• cast a second or deciding vote in the event that a vote of the Board is tied;
• lead non-executive Board members through a formally-appointed Remuneration Committee of the main Board on the appointment, appraisal and remuneration of the Chief Executive and (with the latter) other executive Board members and is responsible to the Secretary of State for the discharge of those responsibilities;
• appoint non-executive Board members to an Audit Committee of the main Board;
• conduct regular appraisals on the performance of non-executive Board members in liaison with the Appointments Commission; and
• be responsible for appointing one of the members of the Professional Executive Committee (not including the Chief Executive or Finance Director of the Primary Care Trust) as Chair of the Professional Executive Committee.

The Chair has certain delegated executive power including that:

• the Chair shall liaise with the NHS Appointments Commission over the appointment of Non-Executive Directors and once appointed shall take responsibility, either directly or indirectly, for their induction, their portfolios of interests and assignments, and their performance; and
• the Chair is jointly responsible with the Chief Executive for ensuring the implementation of requirements of Corporate Governance.