New members appointed to Investigation Committee

The GOC welcomes two new members to its Investigation Committee. Neil Calvert has been appointed as a lay member, and Nicholas Rumney as an optometrist member.

The Investigation Committee plays a pivotal role in decision-making for cases at the investigation stage of the fitness to practise process. Members of the Committee consider allegations that a registrant may not be fit to practise where case examiners cannot agree, as well as referrals from case examiners for an assessment of a registrant’s health or performance.

Our mission is to protect the public by upholding high standards in the optical professions and Investigation Committee members are at the centre of helping us to achieve that.

Neil's and Nicholas’s tenures began on 2 October.

Neil Calvert (Lay member)

Background

Neil is a former secondary school headteacher and Multi-Academy Trust leader, who became CEO and Principal of the Co-operative College in 2021.
He has several years of regulatory experience as a member of the Investigating Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Among his other current roles, he is the Vice Chair of the DHL UK Foundation charity and holds a public appointment on the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
As an accredited lay pension trustee, he was recently appointed as the Independent Chair of the Derbyshire Local Government Pension Scheme Pension Board.
He previously served two terms as Vice Chair of Governing Council at the University of Derby.

Nicholas Rumney (Optometrist member)

Background

Nicholas is currently Chairman of BBR Optometry Ltd in Hereford.
He graduated from Cardiff, completed his pre-registration year at Bristol Eye Hospital, and completed an MSc in low vision in Melbourne.
In 2012 he qualified as an Independent Prescriber.
He has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO) since 1995.
He was part of the GOC team that developed the regulations underpinning Specialist Therapeutic registration.
He was a founding member of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics and recently assumed the Presidency of the European Academy of Optometry.
In 2018, he was made Honorary Professor in Clinical Optometry at the University of Manchester.
Outside optometry, he is a passionate car enthusiast and rugby union supporter.