The EGM
Nominet’s Extraordinary General Meeting took place at 15:00pm (GMT) on 22nd March 2021.
The resolution to remove 5 board members was passed. For a full statement please visit our news story.
The voting rights for the 2021 EGM were calculated on Monday the 1st February 2021.
A summary of the voting is now available from our election scrutineer, Civica.
EGM Statement
We gave the petitioner the opportunity to submit a three minute video statement to be screened at today's EGM. The petitioner declined to submit one. Based on that, and in the interests of balance, we decided not to share our pre-prepared video statement from Non-Executive Director James Bladel at the EGM either. However, our video statement can be viewed in full here.
Our Plan
Nominet’s future is secure with us
Our plan keeps Nominet on track
Some of our members have raised their concerns about our work here at Nominet. Under the spotlight are our levels of investment into Public Benefit projects, executive pay, communication with our membership and .UK prices. We have listened to all of these concerns, we have understood them, and have taken concrete steps to address every one of them. Our 7 point plan is underway.
Our commitments – an overview
Figure 1. Diagram outlining what we were asked for and what we have done. Download PDF here.
- This year we’re spending £4m, and in future, funds will rise along with revenues
- We are committing 10% of future revenues to Public Benefit programmes
- We have earmarked £25m of our reserves to make sure we can plan for the long term
- We decided not to increase prices at our review in 2020
- We will not increase prices in 2021
- We will not increase prices in 2022
- The new member-led Registry Advisory Council will advise the Board on pricing
- Pricing decisions are based on costs to run the registry and are not affected by investments elsewhere in the business
- .com is increasing prices by ~7%, leaving .UK nearly 40% below .com prices
- New member-led Registry Advisory Council. Its remit will include advising on pricing and policies
- New Member Hub to give members access to useful statistics and information
- New well-governed next-generation member forum
- Ambitious agenda of events, webinars and policy consultations
- We already follow the best practice and corporate code relevant to our size
- We are freezing executive pay until the end of 2022. Executive pay is independently set by the Remunerations Committee and aligned to business performance
- We will report Cyber and Registry data separately, giving members more transparency
- We have also already implemented most of the Lyons review, and will issue a detailed report tracking progress
- We are a stable organisation, responsible guardian of .UK and trusted by government to run and secure critical national infrastructure
- We are investing £20m in .UK registry programmes over the next 3 years to build the infrastructure of tomorrow
- Surveys on our registry services have never returned a complaint. Customer service, technology performance, and the range of offerings for members are consistently praised
- Our technology also helps protects vital public services and reaches over 2.8 million public sector workers through our partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre
- We support law enforcement to play our part tackling online crime
The Resolution
The company is obliged to put forward to members any resolutions which have the backing of 5% of the members, and which are consistent with Nominet’s articles of Association.
The proposed resolution is that the following persons be removed from their respective offices as directors of the Company with immediate effect pursuant to section 168(1) of the Act:
- Eleanor Hester Bradley
- Russell Adam Haworth
- Benjamin Edwin Hill
- Jane Elizabeth Tozer
- Mark William Wood
If passed, this would remove the executive leadership, and two of the four independent Non-executive Directors.
We are creating a more connected, inclusive and secure world
Managing over 10 million .UK domains
Keeping .UK safe and secure
About the work we do
"We worked with Nominet around coronavirus-related fraud where we blocked the registration of unofficial domains linked to COVID-19. Protecting the public is our number one priority and we would like to thank Nominet for their continued support in helping us do this."
City of London Police’s Cyber Prevention & Disruption Team
“It's highly appropriate for Nominet to be closely involved in UK cyber-security: it's essential for the protection of our business. I am in favour of Nominet working closely with Government in this area, not least because we all stand to lose if they fail. Perhaps the Government could also be persuaded that contributing to Nominet's work in this area is essential to National Security.”
Nominet Member
"Nominet’s Counter Online Harm Fund provided IWF with additional resources to respond to the ever-changing threats. The money in part supported a research project to better understand how offenders use search engines to locate child sexual abuse imagery online."
Internet Watch Foundation
"Every time I have requested support from Nominet the service has been exceptionally good...If Carlsberg did Domain Registry"
Customer Service Survey Response, October 2020
“Excellent. Slick professional and timely – which is what you expect from organisations but often don’t receive.”
Customer Service Survey Response, October 2020
"Brilliant service probably the best ever received from anywhere, Keep up the great work Nominet"
Customer Service Survey Response, October 2020
Recent Blogs
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