The British Dental Association (BDA) has sought to reassure members that their voices will continue to be heard under proposed reforms that would reduce the size of its board and remove regional constituency seats.

The BDA plans to reduce its principal executive committee (PEC), which acts as its board, from 15 members to nine from 1 January 2028.

As part of the reforms, elections planned for later this year have been cancelled, with members serving terms of four years from 2027 rather than the three-year terms in place now.

Under the current structure, established in 2012, 12 board members have regional constituencies – nine for England, plus one each for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and three have UK-wide constituencies.

The BDA also has four country councils, an overarching UK council and a network of craft committees representing different branches of practice.

The proposed reforms would remove regional constituency seats, with the BDA arguing that the board’s key role is running the organisation and that its members are ‘directors’ rather than ‘representatives’.

It also said it would be ‘impractical’ to divide the UK into nine constituencies while retaining ‘any sort of coherence’ in their boundaries. All nine seats on the reformed board, therefore, would instead be elected on a national basis.

Commenting on the proposals, BDA chair Eddie Crouch sought to allay concerns about any potential impact on member representation.

He told GDPUK: ‘As a trade union and professional body, we put members at the very heart of everything we do.

‘The BDA maintains overlapping structures, directly elected by our members, designed to ensure that their voice is heard, based on both where they live and their field of practice.’

The changes to the length of terms will see elections being held every other year with five and then four members elected in turn, replacing the current system where a third of the board is elected each year.

Under the proposals, all nine seats would be contested in September 2027 ahead of the new board taking office on 1 January 2028.

However, as it stands, five seats on the existing board are due to be contested this autumn. Therefore, the BDA is asking members to approve changes to its articles of association at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 2 October that would allow those elections to be cancelled.

Existing board members would instead remain in post for an additional year until the new arrangements are introduced.

The BDA said holding the elections as currently scheduled would mean successful candidates serving a one-year term, which it said would be ‘unfair and likely unappealing to candidates’, while the cost of a ballot would be ‘greater than the benefit’.

Dr Crouch said: ‘The immediate changes being discussed at the EGM are to discuss the narrow issue of elections due at the end of this year.

‘As we move forward with wider proposals, it feels disproportionate and unfair on candidates to hold an election for board members who are likely to have only a short term of office.’

The BDA also plans to review its committee and council structures with elected representatives and proposes extending their terms from three to four years to maintain a common timetable across the organisation.

Commenting on the proposals as a whole, Dr Crouch said: ‘Our board exists to run the BDA as a company and oversee its trade union work.

‘The changes we are setting out are designed to maximise its effectiveness in those roles, with support from our other elected structures.

‘It is right that we look at how improvements can be made, and we know that our board is currently much larger than comparable organisations.’

British Association of Private Dentistry president Simon Thackeray welcomed the proposed changes.

He said: ‘I think it’s a good idea to reduce the size of the board to make it more agile and responsive.

‘It’s important to ensure that the right candidates are in post for such an important job, and reducing the number of positions should ensure that the recruitment process identifies the right candidates for the posts.’

He added: ‘Moving to a solely national representation will also ensure the net is always cast as wide as possible for appropriate candidates to stand who will ideally be known to more members.’