Abta has created a new Members’ Committee which will oversee areas previously covered separately by its Membership, Code of Conduct and Agent Fund Committees.
The new committee will be chaired by Rich Simpson, governance & compliance manager for travel at The Midcounties Co-operative, and will meet monthly from July.
It will feature both travel agent and tour operator members, alongside occasional representation from the Trading Standards Authority and Civil Aviation Authority.
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The association said the change to the committee structure was made following feedback from members of the existing committees.
Simpson added the move to a single committee will “remove duplication and speed up decision making” while providing “truly interesting and influential roles for Abta members who sit on it”.
Other members of the committee are vice-chairman Nick Hughes, Scenic; Lisa Henning, Inspire Europe; Roshni Shah, Flight Centre; Paul Cowley, consultant; Bridget Keevil, Travelstop Worldchoice; Heather Ward, RCL Cruises; Karen Hart, The Lotus Group; Tom Spriggs, Tui UK; David Powell, Art of Travel; and Roderick Thompson, Hartlepool Travel Agency.
Simpson, who has previously sat on both the Code of Conduct and Membership Committees, said the committee’s members “have the task of ensuring that a fair and consistent approach is taken to dealing with matters that arise from Abta members around the Articles of Association, Membership Rules and Financial Criteria, Code of Conduct and Risk and Claims”.
He added: “[The committee] is a representative, peer group decision-making body, that works with the Abta secretariat, aiming to ensure that there is a fair balance between the protection of consumers and the Abta brand for the benefit of all members, as well as working to manage Abta’s financial protection schemes.”
The changes to the committee structure come alongside a further update to Abta’s articles of association which extends the right to stand for election to Abta positions to those operating managed branch offices.
Previously, only Abta members could stand for election, but the change was recommended by the Abta board and Council of Regions as “a positive step forward in enhancing Abta representation of the entire business of Abta members”.
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