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Established by the Council of the RCOG in 1988, the working party's terms of reference were to review current postgraduate activities of the College, post general accreditation and to consider the need, feasibility and the format of assessment of the individual's maintenance of skills.

The working party was set up by order of the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in March 1990. It met once and produced a paper on guidelines for private practice which was published in November.

The first College Archivist was appointed in 1985 at the instigation of the College Librarian and the Wellcome Institute to organise and list the archives of the College and deposits of private papers. The department is also responsible for records management and making recommendations on conservation needs; from 2008 it became involved in the electronic records management of the College. The College Archives originally came under the governance of the College Secretary's Office; in 2001 the Archives became part of a new Information Services department.

Declaration forms are signed by Members on admittance to the College. The declaration was instituted by William Blair Bell in 1929 as a formal acceptance to subscribe to the regulations of the College and lawful practice in obstetrics and gynaecology. Initially Members were notified by post, later they were required to sign their acceptance in a book at the admission ceremony. From the 1970's members were required to sign a form. The forms have been the responsibility of various College departments, including the Administration Department and the defunct Central Services Department; current responsibility sits with the Membership Services Department.

The governing body of the College is Council, which includes six Honorary Officers: the President, Senior Vice President, two Vice Presidents (who are elected by Council for a maximum of three years), the Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary (whose term of office is for a maximum of seven years). The Honorary Officers meet on a weekly basis and each take turn to raise any issues they would like to discuss and give feedback on meetings they have attended.

Until 1930 the College did not have a permanent Secretary, but in December 1930 the President recommended that the private secretary of Sir William Fletcher Shaw, Miss W E Mallon be appointed as permanent Secretary to the College. Initially the function of the Secretary was purely administrative, as the College grew in size the Secretary became the senior manager of the College, responsible for general management of the College and all its departments in direct liaison with the College Officers, Council and committee chairmen. As the College Secretary's responsibilities expanded, it became necessary to pass certain functions to other departments or officers (for example, in the 1980's responsibility for overseas affairs was passed to the Vice President). In 1999 a Personnel Officer was appointed, under the overall control of the College Secretary. The role involves:

Attendance of Council meetings, the Finance and Executive Committee and Council elections.
Control of special funds.
Operational and management responsibility for major projects.
Overseeing the production of educational resources for training and continuing professional development.
Providing general education development support and advice in a number of forums.
In 2005 the post was renamed as the Chief Executive/Secretary to the Board of Trustees.

The decision-making work of the College is carried out through a Committee system, with administrative support from the various internal departments. The committees below are or were standing committees of the College established to make policy in relation to particular functions and interests of the College.

The Examination Committee was established by Council in 1929 as a standing committee of the College. Its first chairman was Dr T Watts Eden and its members comprised representatives from Scotland, Ireland and the provinces, with the College president, treasurer and two honorary secretaries as ex-officio members. The Committee's function was to select candidates for Membership through an examination of applications and qualifications. Examinations were carried out by a panel selected by the Committee.

The Committee drafted the regulations for the Diploma and Membership examinations. The first membership (MRCOG) examination was held in the Summer of 1930 (see B1M/1 p.12); from this time it has been held twice yearly. The Membership examination is designed for doctors who wished to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology. In 1931 the Committee first agreed a fee should be levied on those taking the examination, although there was much wrangling over this issue. There was no formal decision to make candidates take a written examination, rather the process evolved from the initial examinations process of considering a candidates case history and qualifications. As the examination regulations evolved, the examination process became more analogous and less subjective. In 1970 it was decided to split the examination into two parts, known as the MRCOG Parts I and II (B1M/10 meeting C383); the first Part I examination was held in September 1970 and the first Part II examination the following year. The first Diploma in Obstetrics examination (DRCOG) was held on 2 March 1934 (ref: B1/3/2), primarily this examination has been intended for general practioners (GPs) who wish to include obstetrics and gynaecology as part of their service to patients. Organisation and administration of the examinations became the responsibility of the College's Examination Department.

Inspection and recognition (or otherwise) of hospitals was a regular part of the Committee's work from 1935 until 1944, when the Hospital Recognition Sub-committee was established. In 1947 this committee was recognised as a separate standing committee (see B4), removing the hospital recognition function from the Examination Committee. The process of managing the MRCOG and the DRCOG led to the establishment of the following sub-committees of the Examination Committee, to deal with specific issues:
1) Assessment
2) DRCOG
3) Part 1 MRCOG
4) Part 2 MRCOG EMQ's
5) Part 2 MRCOG essays
6) Part 2 MRCOG MCQ's
7) Part 2 MRCOG oral

By 2008 the functions of the Committee were listed as:
1) Responsible for establishing the content and recommending to the Education Board the format of College examinations.
2) Responsible for setting, marking and reviewing questions and question papers.
3) Ensuring the standard, validity and fairness of examinations and producing appropriate pass lists.
4) Overseeing the function of the Examination Department, including communication with candidates, the logistics of preparing for examinations and communications with overseas centres.
5) Recommending to the Education Board suitable individuals to become DRCOG and MRCOG examiners and suggesting suitable Members and Fellows to be Members of the various Sub-Committees of the Examination and Assessment Committee.
6) On a regular basis, reviewing relevant overseas examinations, in particular those where successful candidates gain exemption from the Part 1 MRCOG. Giving advice and help to overseas examinations and, from time to time, making recommendations with regard to suitable College representatives to be external examiners for these examinations.
7) Joint responsibility for the RCOG/London School of Tropical Medicine Diploma in Reproductive Health in Developing Countries.
8) Responsible for the examination for the Advanced Training Programme in Obstetric Ultrasound organised by the Standing Joint Committee of the RCOG/Royal College of Radiologists.

The College Museum was established in 1938 to collect and display pathological specimens and surgical and obstetrical instruments. From 1988, following the transfer of most specimens to other hospitals, the museum's role was confined to the displaying of instruments. The museum was disbanded in 1999. The Museum Committee was established in 1945 to administer the College Museum. In 1949 it changed its name to the Pathology Committee. The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) was set up in 1950. Its terms of reference were as follows:

• to examine suggestions put forward for research.
• to advise Council on methods by which items of particular research could be carried out and to nominate, if necessary, ad hoc committees for the purpose.
• to advise Council on priority of any particular items of research.

In the 1950's the membership of the Pathology Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee is listed in the annual reports as if they were co-extensive, and Pathology Committee meetings are noted in their minutes as taking place immediately after Scientific Advisory Committee meetings. In July 1966 the two committees were amalgamated, and henceforth were known as the Scientific Advisory and Pathology Committee (SAPC). The word Pathology was dropped from the committee title in April 1984. The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), as it is now known, is currently serviced by the College's Clinical Governance and Standards Department and reports to the Standards Board. Its broad remit encompasses both basic and clinical science, including health services research. In 2008 it was defined as follows:

• To 'Horizon scan' and debate relevant scientific issues, including future developments of relevance to the specialty.
• To produce regular news items and/or opinion papers for the membership.
• To contribute to College responses on national policies and direction.
  • To react to requests for scientific advice from Officers, committees, working parties and Fellows/Members of the College.
• To advise Officers and appropriate committees about future national and international scientific and clinical meetings and study groups.

The College's Rare Tumour Registry was established in 1951 by agreement between the College and the governors of Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospitals. The Registry was to be located at the Chelsea Hospital for Women under the direction of the College's Pathology/Scientific Advisory Committee. A Registry for Diseases of the Trophoblast was established in 1961, and was administered as a subdivision of the Rare Tumour Registry. The word 'Rare' was dropped in 1964. In 1970 an Ovarian Tumour Panel was established and a renewed effort to register cases of hydatidiform mole was instituted. However, in 1973 the Tumour Registry was formally disbanded, except for the registration of cases of hydatidiform mole, which continued until circa 1988 (the Ovarian Tumour Panel was disbanded circa 1985). The registrar of the Tumour Registry was Magnus Haines (1909-1978). The registry for diseases of the trophoblast was organised by W W Parks and the prime mover on the Ovarian Tumour Panel was A D T Govan.

The Welsh Executive Committee was established by Council in 1972 as a standing committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to represent the views of the College to the Welsh Office during the reorganisation of health services in Wales. Its first meeting took place on 23 July 1972 with J R E James serving as Chairman; predominately meetings were held at Llandrindod Wells Hospital. In 2008 its remit was: to discuss and advise upon specialty related matters, particularly within the Principality of Wales. Minutes were kept by the Secretary and submitted to the Council of the RCOG for ratification, this practice continues presently.

A Subspecialty Board first met in December 1984 as a sub-committee of the Higher Training Committee. The Board was created to fulfil some of the recommendations of the Working Party on Further Specialisation within Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Sub-specialisation Advisory Group. In July 1988 the Board became a standing committee. Its present remit is to advise and keep under review the development of subspecialisation in four fields (gynaecological oncology, reproductive medicine, maternal and fetal medicine, and urogynaecology) including requirements and regulations for subspecialist training and accreditation. It is also responsible for establishing the criteria and procedures for approval of subspecialty trainees, training centres and training programmes, and for subspecialist accreditation on completion of training. The Committee:

• Ensures visits are arranged to assess prospective training centres and trainees in post.
  • Makes recommendations to the Education Board regarding the recognition of centres and programmes on the basis of advice provided in the visitors' reports.

• Makes recommendations to the Education Board regarding the award of certificates of Subspecialist Accreditation on the basis of advice provided in visitors' reports following trainee final review visits.

  • Provides feedback to programme directors on the progress of trainees based on information submitted in the visitors' reports following mid-term review visits.
  • Liaises with programme directors to ensure the syllabi, requirements for training and the various application and report forms are updated appropriately.
  • Keeps statistics on current and past trainees, including manpower and funding information, and the number of centres and programmes approved.

  The Committee reports to the Education Board, meeting four times a year and is serviced by the College's Postgraduate Training Department.

The Ethics (or Ethical) Committee was established in 1982 to consider the ethical aspects and legal implications of matters of concern affecting the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology. It has considered a wide range of issues such as abortion, assisted reproduction, sex selection, female genital mutilation, the use of fetuses for research, gene therapy, court-authorised obstetric intervention, patient consent, personal health information and critical care decisions.

The Academic Committee was established in 1996 under the chairmanship of Professor E M Symonds, to promote and safeguard all aspects of academic obstetrics and gynaecology including research and research training, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and academic jobs and training, particularly in relation to recruitment and retention, and to monitor academic staff and funding in obstetrics and gynaecology. It worked closely with the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the RCOG Scientific Advisory Committee.

The Clinical Effectiveness Standards Board (CESB) was established in 1999 with responsibility for strategy and policy in relation to the College's clinical effectiveness and governance programme. Its main objectives included: development of a co-ordinated and structured programme of audit and guideline activity; co-ordination of a clinical effectiveness programme among the clinical and scientific meetings of the College; co-ordination and development of the College's programme in relation to quality improvement, particularly risk management, accreditation of services and consumer issues. It included representatives from the Department of Health, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), the National Confidential Enquiries, the British Association of Medical Managers, other Royal Medical Colleges, and consumers. It took over co-ordination existing activities including clinical guidelines, Personal Assessment in Continuing Education (PACE) Reviews, and audits. It oversaw the work of the new Clinical Effectiveness Support Unit (CESU). The CESB held its last meeting in April 2000, when a new structure of governance was introduced, including a new Standards Board. From that date, the Guidelines and Audit Committee reported to the Standards Board, which also oversaw the work of CESU.

The Publications Management Committee was established in June 1993. Its remit was to be responsible for financial and management decisions relating to publications, including study group proceedings. It was to meet four times per annum, and report to the Finance and Executive Committee. It is serviced by, and oversees the functions of the Publications Department. Presently, the main functions of the Committee are:

• to oversee the financial management of titles published under the imprint of RCOG Press.
• to oversee the work of The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Editorial Board and the StratOG Editorial Board.
• to receive and approve proposals for new publications to be published under the imprimatur of RCOG Press.
• to oversee the operation of the RCOG Bookshop.
• to receive and approve proposals for new regalia/gifts and to monitor their sales.
• to consider new ventures.
  From 1992 the Committee oversaw the work of The Diplomate Editorial Board, until publication was suspended in 1999.

The Committee held its first meeting in July 2001. It was established 'in response to the need for standards and benchmarks required by various external agencies as well as to assist Fellows and Members discharge their general clinical governance duties.' It had three key areas of responsibility: engagement with the National Health Service and review of national policy-making; developing, implementing and monitoring clinical and service standards to ensure patient safety; developing, implementing and monitoring professional standards for good medical practice. The Committee reported to the Standards Board. In May 2007 it was renamed the Professional and Clinical Standards Committee and a College Officer charged with responsibility for each of its three key areas. Its further activities included: developing service models in line with College recommendations; ensuring implementation of College policy on performance and service reviews; establishing and overseeing the reskilling/refresher training policy.

The development of international activities was a priority within the College's three-year strategy, 2004-2007. Initial focus was on collaborative work with other agencies to assist in reducing maternal mortality in developing countries and to raise the standard of reproductive healthcare worldwide. The first stage was to establish an International Executive Board under the Chairmanship of the Senior Vice President who had responsibility for international affairs. The Board met quarterly and reported to Council. It included representatives of other organisations including the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, FIGO, and the World Health Organisation. It had the following remit:

• To co-ordinate and promote an RCOG strategy on the improvement of reproductive healthcare worldwide to reduce maternal mortality.
• To establish and monitor progress of the RCOG Foundation.
• To consider income generation initiatives to ensure that there were sufficient funds available to sustain this area of work.
• To work in partnership with other UK and International Agencies to strengthen links, to facilitate a multi-disciplinary approach and to encourage dialogue.
• To co-ordinate the development of clinical standards and educational tools for under-resourced countries.
• To develop a framework for improvements in reproductive health in developing countries.
• To lobby governments, including the health ministers of commonwealth countries to influence and educate on the problems and solutions to maternal mortality.
• To assist in the exchange of skilled personnel and training programmes.
• To collaborate with RCOG international representative committees and to encourage dialogue at a national level in all countries.
  An International Advisory Group was also established in 2006 to support and advise the Board.

In 1947 a Standard Maternity Hospital Report Committee was set up by the College to encourage maternity hospitals and departments to publish annual medical reports in order to maintain a high standard of practice. In 1948 it published a standard form for them to adopt in order that comparisons might be made over time. This was widely adopted in the UK and Commonwealth and revised in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973 the Committee changed its name to the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Statistics Committee, and in 1977 to the Statistics and Epidemiology Committee. In 1978 the Committee became a sub-committee of the Scientific Advisory and Pathology Committee. It reverted to a full committee in 1983. During these years the Committee took an active role in the advent of computerisation in relation to the collection and analysis of maternity data and also in disease definition, classification and coding systems. After the collection and analysis of data from Fellows and Members of the College about laparoscopy in 1978, other statistical studies on particular topics followed. In 1990 the Committee was renamed the Audit Committee as it was envisaged that audit was likely to be an increasingly large component of its work. An Audit Unit, funded by the Department of Health and based at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, was established in 1991 under the supervision of the Audit Committee. In 1999, despite the fact that some members felt that their original remit with regard to statistics and epidemiology would be sacrificed, both the Committee and Unit were wound up and their responsibilities transferred to the Guidelines and Audit Sub-committee and Clinical Effectiveness Support Unit.

Committees and Councils of the RCOG were set up internationally in various countries. The earliest were Reference Committees, which were set up and appointed to advise Council on local matters, such as the recognition of training posts and the training programmes of individual trainees, and to encourage local scientific meetings and social gatherings of Fellows and Members. The first reference committee was set up in Canada in 1932, closely followed by one in India and subsequently in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Gradually Regional Councils replaced Reference Committees in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Australia and New Zealand replaced their Councils with their own Royal Colleges of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1980 and 1982 respectively. Representative Committees were set up as the corporate body of College membership in a particular country or region and nominated and elected by the Fellows of that country or region. Functions were to bring together the collective advice of Fellows and Members and to undertake tasks on the College's behalf which were also in the interests of the country. In the 1980's the remaining Regional Councils were replaced by Representative Committees. The Dominions Committee was founded as a sub-committee of the RCOG in 1945 and became a full committee in 1952. It comprised representatives from the dominions (Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India) and met in London. The meetings were consequently infrequent and the Committee was disbanded in 1958. The Overseas Policy Committee based in England, met from 1960 to 1962 when it became known as the Overseas Committee. Its terms of reference were: to consider development and change in countries overseas, particularly within the Commonwealth, in so far as they affect the aims and objectives of the College; to consider with the regional councils and reference committees means of fostering a close relationship between Fellows and Members abroad; to help with the placing of recommended postgraduates in recognised training posts in England and abroad; to be concerned with arrangements for the reception, both professional and social, of visitors from overseas. By 1967 the Overseas Committee had been superseded by the appointment of an Adviser to Overseas Candidates and after 1967 there is no record of the Committee meeting again.

The Representative Committee was formed in 1943 at the invitation of the Minister for Health who asked the British Medical Association (BMA), in collaboration with the royal colleges, to form a committee representative of all branches of the medical profession to discuss with him the problems involved in establishing a comprehensive national health service. The following bodies were represented on the committee: Medical Planning Committee; BMA; Royal College of Surgeons of England; Royal College of Physicians; Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow; Society of Apothecaries; Society of Medical Officers of Health; Medical Women's Federation; Provincial Teaching Hospitals' Staffs' Association. The purpose of the committee was to explore the medical problems raised by the Beveridge Report and to promote the views of the majority of the medical professions. In 1944 the Representative Committee was restyled as the National Health Service Negotiating Committee; it was disbanded in December 1948 following the establishment of a Joint Committee of the Royal Colleges, the Royal Scottish Corporations and the Consultants and Specialists Committee (established by the BMA), which continued to represent consultants and specialists in negotiation with the Government in matters arising from the National Health Service Acts.

Advisory appointments committees were set up by regional hospital boards in 1955 to select consultants for appointment in hospitals around the country. Committee members were external assessors who came from a different area to where the appointment was being made. Method of selection of assessors was as follows: requests would be made to the relevant medical college for nominations for membership of committees, and those persons nominated approached directly by the President of the College.

In April 1995 an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) chaired by the Chief Medical Officer published "A Policy Framework for Commissioning Cancer Services". The guiding principle of this report was that all patients wherever they live should recieve high quality cancer care to maximise both cure rates and quality of life. Its purpose was to act as a strategic framework to assist in the planning of cancer services in the UK. It recommended that professional bodies develop guidance on the level of expertise and support required to manage different cancers. In response, the British Gynaecological Cancer Society (BGCS) and the RCOG established a Joint Working Group to provide guidance on the recommendations of the report in relation to gynaecological cancer. A draft report was circulated to Fellows and Members as a Consultation Document, and responses considered before publication of the final report in January 1997.

The Joint Committee of the Royal Medical Colleges, the Royal Scottish Corporations, and the Central Consultants and Specialists Committee of the British Medical Association was established in 1948 in order to provide a body which could speak for consultants, particularly in the impending negotiations with the government on matters arising out of the National Health Service Acts and the report of the Spens Committee on the Remuneration of Consultants and Specialists. In 1952 the Committee was renamed the Joint Consultants Committee and continued to provide a common voice on issues relating to hospital consultants.

The terms of reference of this Working Party, established in November 2005 as a joint Working Party between the College and the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (APOG), were as follows:

1. To consider ways of improving recruitment to obstetrics and gynaecology at undergraduate level
   2. To make specific recommendations to individual university departments of obstetrics and gynaecology and agree reasonable targets
   3. To arrange an annual meeting of academic departments in the UK to exchange ideas, identify areas of good practice and develop an agenda for the recruitment of medical students to the specialty
   4. To consider how RCOG prizes and awards can be developed to enhance recruitment
   5. To recommend a system for recognising excellence among clinical teachers of obstetrics and gynaecology in the UK and Irish Medical Schools

In February 2006 APOG, which had been in existence for over 25 years as an association of senior academics was disbanded and replaced by a new grouping, the Academic Association of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AAOG), open to clinical and relevant non-clinical academics of all grades, as well as to NHS consultants who had a strong interest in academic work. The Working Party continued its work and a final joint RCOG / AAOG report was published in December 2006.

In 2001 the College and the Faculty issued a joint statement outlining the need to further develop community gynaecology. A joint working group was formed which reported in 2001. The main recommendations were that the name of the subspecialty should be changed from Consultant in Community Gynaecology to Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH); that a Joint Committee of the Faculty and the College should be set up as a separate committee and not as a subcommittee of the Subspecialty Committee. The Committee was to:

• report directly to the Standards Board of the RCOG and the Higher Training Committee of the Faculty
  • be responsible for Additional Training and Special Skills modules relating to SRH
  • be responsible for improvements and changes in the modular log book for SRH.

The National Health Service Act 1946 established a Central Health Services Council to advise the Minister of Health and this included, ex-officio, the presidents of the medical Royal Colleges. It also empowered him to constitute standing advisory committees to provide guidance on particular services. Initially, nine such committees were appointed, a Maternity and Midwifery Advisory Committee being one. In 1967 this considered the future of the domiciliary midwifery service and bed needs for maternity patients in the context of an increasing hospital confinement rate, a shorter length of hospital stay and a falling birth rate. It established a subcommittee to examine the issue. This held its first meeting in September 1967. Sir John Peel was elected Chairman. It met thirteen times and took evidence from a range of organisations and individuals. Its 1970 report, known as the Peel Report, was subsequently controversial for its recommendation that 'sufficient facilities shuld be provoided to allow for 100% hospital delivery' and that 'the greater safety of hospital confinement for mother and child justifies this objective.'

In 1964, obstetrician Professor Will Nixon set up the 'Childbirth Research Centre', after witnessing the grief of a young man whose wife had died during childbirth. Professor Nixon was director of the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at University College Hospital, London for over twenty years. Leading members of the medical profession including Lord Brain, Sir John Peel, Professor Dugald Baird and Sir George Pinker founded CRC as a registered charity in October 1964. They were very disturbed by the lack of scientific and medical research into the causes and prevention of abnormalities in pregnancy, childbirth and infancy. In 1972, the name was changed to 'Birthright' 'The National Fund for Childbirth Research' in order to reflect the national activities of the charity both in terms of fundraising and research. In April 1975 Birthright agreed to work with The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to improve women's health. Birthright worked in partnership with the RCOG as a fundraising and research organisation to promote research in obstetrics and gynaecology and related subjects, particularly research into the prevention of birth defects.

A congress to discuss obstetrics and gynaecology was held in London in 1920; unfortunately no record has survived of its terms of reference or proceedings. The first official British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BCOG) was held at Birmingham in 1921 (see note on p. 4 of Central Congress Committee minute book, ref: E6M/1), but records of proceedings do not begin until 1923. The congresses were organised by Congress secretaries of local obstetrical societies; an Executive was appointed at the 1923 Edinburgh Congress, with the power to appoint a Treasurer (see correspondence of William Blair Bell, 1923, concerning British congresses in S10/59). From 1923 to 1965 British congresses were organised by local committees under the aegis of a Central Congress Committee, which was composed of representatives of different British and Irish obstetrical and gynaecological societies. The central committee was disbanded in 1965, and replaced by a new Congress Committee of the RCOG. The different societies continued to send representatives to serve on the new committee. In 1968 the Congress Committee was renamed the Scientific Programme and Central Congress Committee, and became responsible for the College's expanded programme of scientific meetings. In 1973 responsibility for scientific meetings passed to the Postgraduate Committee and Scientific Programme was dropped from its title. In 1976 the Central Congress Committee discussed the frequency of its meetings and recommended greater local influence; it restricted future meetings to the year of each Congress. By the 1980s the local obstetrical and gynaecological societies were responsible for running the annual Congress. The RCOG held a central Congress fund to enable organisers to plan ahead and any profits of the Congress were returned to the central fund. The President of the RCOG was also President of the Congress but otherwise the College had little input into the organisation of the Congress. In 1984 a new College Congress Committee was established to: allow the College to have a greater input to the scientific and social content; decide future venues; appoint the organising committee and advise on financial arrangements; liaise with College arrangements for other scientific meetings during the year of the Congress; arrange courses near the Congress for overseas delegates. However, it's existence was short-lived, on 22 July 1989 the RCOG Council disbanded the Congress Committee, and agreed that its responsibilities should pass to the Finance and Executive Committee (with one exception: the Postgraduate Committee became responsible for arranging educational courses at the time of the Congress).

In January 2002 a new Congress Committee was re-established, reporting to the Education Board. Its remit was:

• To be responsible for the scientific and social programme of the annual Congress
  • To consider the inclusion of College eponymous lectures and of specilist societies in programme selection
• To decide on future venues for Congresses
• To monitor the performance of the Professional Congress Organiser
• To monitor the budget, income and expenditure for the Congress

A Scientific Programme Sub-Group was established at the first meeting to report to Congress Committee with its recommendations. 2007 marked the 30th British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, which was held in London. It is notable that in the new millennium, a major feature of the 'British' congress is collaboration with specialist societies and International Colleges which include America, Australia, Canada, South Africa and India, and others. Internally, organisation of congresses was always overseen by the Deputy College Secretary, later known as the Head of Corporate Affairs. From 1974-2002, Ms Caroline Roney served as Congress Organising Secretary/Congress Organiser.

The working party was set up by the Council of the RCOG in 1989, under the chairmanship of Professor E M Symonds FRCOG, with the following terms of reference: "to review the current activities of the RCOG, to consider future strategy and to report through the Finance and Executive Committee to Council. All aspects of the work of the College and details of its present structure and function should be considered." (terms of reference of the working party, ref M50/1). The working party made its final report in 1991. The College Secretary's Office provided the secretariat for the working party.

Over the years the Publications department of the College has produced a range of booklets, prospectuses and audio-visual material to promote the specialty of obsterics and gynaecology.

The College formally announces matters of interest to media 'consumers' in press statements. Initially these were issued in paper form, from 2006 they have been issued electronically on the College website.

RCOG Update was the College's monthly e-news bulletin distributed to Members and Fellows. Each email contained brief information about general issues in obstetrics and gynaecology and RCOG news items and events, with links to further information.

General meetings of College Fellows and Members were held annually from 1930 onwards.

Under the By-laws of the College drawn up in 1929, two Vice Presidents were to be chosen from among the Fellows of the College. The Senior Vice President, or in his absence, the Junior Vice President, was to undertake the President's duties in the case of the latter's inability or unwillingness to undertake his duties. The Senior Vice President was to be the Vice President who had held office for a longer period. The Vice President assumed primary responsibility for overseas affairs in the early 1980s; prior to this time the College Secretary was responsible for overseas affairs.

The Committee was established in 1987. It consisted of representatives from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and one representative from each of the three Defence Societies; the Medical Protection Society, the Medical Defence Union and the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, plus a senior solicitor and an observer from the DHSS. Its remit was to advise the RCOG Council of the RCOG and the Defence Societies on medico-legal matters as they related to obstetrics and gynaecology. The Committee's secretariat was based at the RCOG. The Committee was disbanded in 1998.

In November 1981 a meeting was set up at the instigation of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists between representatives of the Department of Health and Social Security, Royal College of General Practitioners, British Paediatric Association, Royal College of Midwives and the RCOG to discuss the implications of establishing a system of confidential inquiry into perinatal mortality throughout England and Wales. After further discussions the committee was reconvened in 1984 as an interdisciplinary working party, with the objective of producing a document on guidelines.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and British Paediatric Association (BPA) Standing Joint Committee evolved out of various ad hoc committees of the two bodies set up in the 1940s to discuss issues of mutual concern. The committee lapsed for some time during the 1950s but was officially reconstituted in January 1965 to discuss in particular the staffing structure of maternity units for the care of the newborn (ref: C4/3/1). The joint committee is made up of equal numbers of members of the two organisations. Its remit is to consider matters of common interest to members of both specialities. In 1998 the BPA was reconstituted as the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health (RCPCH). Servicing the RCOG's contribution to this committee is the responsibility of the Committee Secretary, Administration Department.

The sub-specialisation advisory group was established in 1983 by Council to advise it "on practical ways of implementing the recommendations of the working party on further specialisation with particular regard to training and the recognition of training [and] to consider the need for an advisory board or boards to control sub-specialisation and to maintain high standards" (meeting SSG 1, 4 Jan 1983: reference M17/1). The group first met in January 1983, under the chairmanship of T L T Lewis, with instructions to report back to Council within one year, initially on gynaecological oncology. The final report was produced in 1984. In July 1983 Rustum Feroze, PRCOG, and Professor R W Beard, chairman of the Scientific Advisory and Pathology Committee (SAPC), decided that the SAPC should make proposals on the training programme of individuals undertaking two-year sub-specialisation training in reproductive endocrinology, gynaecological oncology and fetal medicine. Three groups of specialists were formed, as sub-units of the sub-specialisation advisory group, to make proposals on each of these sub-specialities. These proposals were then to go to the SAPC for discussion, with final proposals to go to Council for ratification.

The RCOG working party and confidential enquiry into laparoscopy was formed under the chairmanship of G V P Chamberlain in order to conduct an investigation into the use of laparoscopy within the United Kingdom. The College was to be assisted by the DHSS, which agreed to handle all data processing and analysis, and by the Defence Societies, which were to help finance printing and postage (see first meeting, 10 June 1975, in minute book: Archives reference M21M/1 p. 1). Although the working party produced its final report in 1978, and no minutes appear to have survived after 1977, it continued to carry out its investigations until 1982.

The Institutional versus Domiciliary Midwifery Committee was established by the RCOG Council under the chairmanship of R C Thomas in 1951 to assess National Health Service obstetric services, to study trends in places of birth, and to define objectives for the next two decades. It changed its title to the Maternity' Services Committee later in 1951 and to the Obstetric Services Committee in 1954. It published its report in the same year; a revised version was published by the College in November 1956. The committee does not appear to have met after 1954. According to a note in T5, p. 17, this committee continued the work of an earlier RCOG committee, the Maternity Committee, 1929-1939.

This committee was set up in 1969, under the chairmanship of E A J Alment, then Honorary Secretary of the College, to consider DHSS plans for maternity accommodation and to provide advice on the planning and design of maternity units and gynaecological departments.

The working party was established in 1979 under the chairmanship of M C Macnaughton. Its terms of reference were "to consider the provision and standards of antenatal and intrapartum obstetrics services, and to make recommendations for possible improvements in necessary standards in future". This working party is an extension of an earlier RCOG/BPA Standing Joint Committee that published its report in 1978, Recommendations for the improvement of infant care during the perinatal period in the United Kingdom. However it was felt that the antenatal and intrapartum period needed to be covered; hence the 1979 working party.

The College's Committee on Human Fertility was established in 1944 to assist the Biological and Medical Committee of the Royal Commission on Population in clinical investigations of sterility. It held meetings from May 1944 to March 1945. The questionnaire sub-committee met from March 1945 to March 1949; it supervised an enquiry (by questionnaire) into infertility which was conducted by E Lewis-Faning. Lewis-Faning's report was published in typescript as follows: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Report on an enquiry into family limitation and its influence on human fertility during the past fifty years.

In 1966 the Ministry of Health asked the RCOG for its views on a report on ambulance training and equipment produced by the Ministry and the Scottish Home and Health Department.

The working party was set up by the RCOG Finance and Executive Committee in 1965. Its terms of reference were as follows: "to consider the Platt Report `A reform of Nursing Education' and prepare a memorandum for submission to the Minister with particular reference to the effects of the implementation of this Report on the status and future training of midwives" (reference: RCOG memorandum in M4/1). Humphrey Arthure, formerly Honorary Secretary of the College (1947-1955), was the chairman of the working party.

The PROLOG working party was set up as a result of a questionnaire sent to UK Fellows and Members on the role of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in continuing postgraduate education. The main purpose of the exercise was to keep Fellows and Members up to date with progress in the speciality. It was decided to adopt the name of LOGIC (Learning in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for In-Service Clinicians) as a title for the scheme.

In January 1993 a meeting was held to prepare an information document for presentation to the most relevant speciality committee of the Department of Health's London Implementation Group following government acceptance of the recommendations of the Tomlinson Report on the future of London's health services. A submission was presented in July 1993.

In August 1994 two articles based on unsubstantiated research were published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Due to the resulting furore the College President, who was also the Journal editor, felt it necessary to resign from both positions, despite being exonerated from collusion in the deception. This committee was set up as an independent body by Council in November 1994 and produced its report in June 1995. The College Secretary's Office provided the secretariat for the enquiry.

Biographical note: John Harold Peel (b. 1904) KCVO, MA, BM BCh(Oxon), FRCP, FRCS, Hon FRCOG, Hon DSc(Birm), Hon FRCS(C.), Hon FCOG(SA), Hon FACS, Hon FACOG, Hon NMSA, Hon DM(Soton), Hon SCh(Newcastle) served as the College's Honorary Treasurer from 1959-1966 and as President from 1966-1969. He was the author of The Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 1929-1969 (Whitefriars Press Ltd, 1976). He was elevated to the honorary fellowship of the College in 1989. Administrative history: the survey was conducted by Sir John Peel, PRCOG, in 1967. It was divided into three parts: 1: A survey of the reports from 22 teaching hospitals in Great Britain and Ireland covering the years 1949, 1954, 1959 and 1964; 2: a more detailed survey of caesarean sections preformed over the same years at King's College Hospital; 3: a report from 13 of the 22 hospitals on vaginal deliveries after previous caesarean section. Sir John presented his findings at the 18th British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cambridge in July 1968. The final report is not extant and its whereabouts are unknown at this time.

The working party was established in January 1999 by the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists under the chairmanship of Peter Niven FRCOG. Its remit was "to agree measures of success in structured training and to audit those measures"(report p.5: Ref M53/2). It made its report in december 2000.