Elections

Find out more about our Governor elections

Join our Trust and help mental health services to thrive

Do you have an interest in mental wellbeing?

Would you like to help improve and develop mental health services for local people?

Then join our Trust as a member and stand for election to our Council of Governors!

As a member you become a voice of your community, can vote for Governors, stand for election, and much more!

Governors help the Trust to develop and thrive for the benefit of the people who use our services.

Nominations to stand for election as a Governor are now open and close on 23 October 2024. Click here to apply.

Check out our website (and follow us on social media) for updates over the coming weeks. Updates will include opportunities to meet our Governors and learn more about becoming a Governor yourself.

Only Trust members can stand for election or vote in Council of Governors elections. Trust membership is free and open to service users, carers, staff and members of the wider public.

Find out more about membership and join our Trust at www.nsft.nhs.uk/membership

Find out more about our Governors and how they represent the views of Trust members and local people at: www.nsft.nhs.uk/council-of-governors

Elections to the Council of Governors

2024 Formal documents

Notice of Election 2024 [pdf] 278KB

2023 Formal documents

Election queries

Please direct all enquiries to the Returning Officer, Abi Walcott-Daniel, at Civica Election Services (CES). Call 020 8889 9203 or email ftnominationenquiries@cesvotes.com

Rules and regulations for elections to the Council of Governors

Elections to the Council of Governors take place every year for those governors who have come to the end of their term, or who have stopped being a governor during the previous year. Governors are usually elected for three-year terms, starting on 1 February. They can be re-elected twice, serving up to nine years.

Our Constitution contains the rules for elections and the circumstances under which a person cannot stand as a Governor. These elections take place under the Department of Health's model rules for elections.

Members can only stand as a Governor for the constituency of which they are a member (that is, staff members can only be Staff Governors).

CES sends ballot papers to all members in the constituencies where seats are being contested, to vote on who should represent them.

For the election regulations and information about the Trust, please contact governors@nsft.nhs.uk.

Information on the Council and the role of the Governor

The Council represents the interests of our Foundation Trust members and partner organisations. They feed back information to the members who elected or appointed them.

Governors must act in the best interest of the Trust and in accordance with the seven principles of public life – the Nolan Principles:

selflessness
integrity
objectivity
accountability
openness
honesty
leadership

The Council meets six times a year in public and Governors should attend these meetings. There are also subgroups of the Council.

If you would like to stand as a Governor, we hope the following information is useful:

Information for people interested in standing for election as a Foundation Trust Governor
Details of future Council meetings held in public are on the Events Calendar, together with the agenda and papers when they are available
Papers from previous Council of Governors meetings held in public and the Board of Directors meetings held in public are also on the Events Calendar
Our Code of Conduct
Govenors Expenses Policy
Monitor also publishes information on the statutory duties for governors