Articles in Constitution

The BuDS Annual Report covering the period of April 2022 – March 2023 was published on 31 January 2024. The Chair of Trustees’ Introduction is below, and you can read the full report and all its annexes using the buttons below.

BuDS continues to grow and develop, and our constitution needs to grow and develop too, so that
the charity has a legal form which is suitable for the future. We’d like your views about a
number of changes to BuDS’ constitution, our governing document.

If you have any questions or comments about the proposed changes, please do get in touch
with BuDS. You can e-mail info@buds.org.uk, leave us a voicemail on 01494 211179 or message us
through a social media platform. You can also send us a message through this website by clicking the ‘Contact Us’ button at the bottom of this page.

Here is a summary of the changes that BuDS Trustees would like to make to the Constitution. Members of BuDS (any disabled person from Bucks) have to approve the changes at the AGM on 13th January 2024, and some of the changes will also need to be approved by the Charity Commission.

• Make BuDS’ legal ‘area of operation’ England rather than just Bucks. BuDS would continue to work principally in and around Bucks just as it does now, with some projects operating across the South East or Thames Valley, or nationally, when it’s right and possible.
• Allow disabled people to join BuDS as members from anywhere in England. BuDS would continue to work as it does now, mainly in and around Bucks, but with the difference that any disabled person from anywhere in England who wants to join us would be able to do so.
• Allowing BuDS Trustees to be disabled people from anywhere in England. BuDS would continue to recruit only the best qualified and most passionate disabled people to become Trustees, but from anywhere in England rather than just in Bucks.
• Permit a small number of BuDS Trustees to be non-disabled people. BuDS has always recruited a few non-disabled people as Trustees if their skills and experience were vital for the charity and this change would allow this to continue, provided 75% of Trustees are always disabled people.
• Allow Trustees to change the name of BuDS from ‘Buckinghamshire Disability Service BuDS’ to ‘BuDS Disability Service’. This gradual change over time would stop people being confused whether BuDS could help them or not.
• Note that Trustees intend in due course to change the legal form of BuDS from an unincorporated association to a company limited by guarantee. This is a technical legal change which is recommended for all larger charities, and which would not affect what BuDS does and how it helps disabled people.

You can find out more about these proposals, and why Trustees think they are necessary, in the full consultation paper. This can be downloaded by clicking the download button below.

You can find the Constitution by clicking the download button below.

If you need the consultation paper or the Constitution in another format, please contact us: