Posted By Hazel Harvey Richard, Firstly we have to receive approval from the Privy Council. However, we have already been in discussion with them and have reached a point where this should be just a formality. All being well in this area we will start to implement the change over to the new membership categories from 1st July next year. However, for legal reasons you will not be able to use the designation until after next year's AGM. We will be writing to all individual members of IOSH over the next few months to tell them how they will stand in the new system, what their requirement for CPD is etc. We will also be issuing new membership certificates to everyone and new membership cards plus reprinting all our corporate literature. In addition to this we are piloting our new on-line CPD and modifying our whole method of organising our membership data etc. Can I come and stay with you until it is all done?

Posted By Richard Spencer Hazel You are welcome but we had 36 degrees last week and then it dropped back to 22 degrees. Are you sure you can take the variation in heat? Why of course you can silly me, you have been in the midst of the AGM. I would like to pay you a special tribute at the excellent high standard of information you have provided despite the ‘heat’. Therefore on behalf of those like minded members who were ‘for’ the changes offer my thanks and congratulations to you for the professional manner with which you have dealt with our sometimes irrational commentary and questions. Being a distance member it is rewarding to think that someone actually cares if you happen to be outside the UK and have an opinion. I do believe that it is time for IOSH to expand itself to this sector of the world and maybe headquarter in Sydney. The SIA with all due respects is not a strong body and seems incapable of maintaining a decent member base of OHS professionals. Perhaps you could pass this on to the new powers to be as it could represent expansion into this part of the globe. Richard