Forestry Commission Trade Unions - www.fctu.org.uk
Spending Review 2010 (SR10)
The Chancellor presented the Government’s Spending Review on 20 October 2010, which fixes spending budgets for each Government department up to 2014-15. .
The Spending Review is a Treasury-led process to allocate resources across all government departments, according to the Government's priorities. Spending Reviews set firm and fixed spending budgets over several years for each department. It is then up to departments to decide how best to manage and distribute this spending within their areas of responsibility. The 2010 Spending Review will cover the four years from 2011/12 to 2014/15.
We are now feeling the force of the cuts and changes across the organisation. The FCTU are actively engaged from the outset in working with Senior Managers (who have given the commitment work with the Trade Unions throughout) to ensure that union members are protected and that the interests of staff are taken into account at all times. The joint unions will also do everything that is possible to stop the cuts, fight for jobs and oppose the selling of land.
We will make sure that you, our members are kept up to date as quickly as possible however we cannot stress enough that these are seriously challenging times and we urge everyone to keep up to date too and to contact your Union Representative about any concerns that you may have.
Contact the FCTU office to give feedback on the SR10 proposals.
News
FE England Workstreams Consultation 14th October 2011
FCTU England's response to the consultation on worstreams in FE England has now been submitted. This can be viewed here. It is our belief, as we have pointed out in this reponse, that the service we provide to the public is being seriously threatened with these proposals. We have detailed why these are not workable, in particular on admin, retail and learning, and how the preferred options can be improved.
FCTU Responses to SR10 in GB & FR 19th August 2011
The FCTU have now formally responded to the SR10 consultations for Forest Research, Silvan House Shared Services & GB Core, and England HR, Finance and IT.
Consultations Launched for FC GB & FR UPDATED 27th June 2011
SR10 consultation and related documents are now available for staff in Forest Research, GB & Corporate Forestry Support, Westminster Corporate Functions, Shared Services, IFOS and England Finance & IT. We urge all members to look closely at what is being proposed, talk to your local trade union rep and colleagues and submit your response to these proposals. You can also contact the FCTU office on your thoughts using the above link.
We will continue to fight for members’ jobs and seek to bring influence on those who can change this ludicrous policy and bring about an expanded, fully resourced and sustainable Forestry Commission that the public throughout the UK have demanded.
SR10 Implemation Plan in England- Next Steps UPDATED 21st June 2011
A meeting was held on 21 June between the Departmental Committee and FCTU England to discuss the way forward for members being affected by the rollout of SR10 across England. Action was agreed on setting up Local Staff Councils; coordinating joint parliamentary activity and submitting a response to the Independant Forestry Panel's call for evidence. View full briefing.
Science & Technology Select Committee - Inquiry Into FR 15th June 2011
The Commons Science & Technology Select Committee agreed on 11 May 2011 to launch a new inquiry examining forest research as part of the ongoing monitoring of the Spending Review 2010, and called for evidence on Forest Research.
The Committee sought submissions on the following matters:
- the effect of the Spending Review on FR;
- how priorities in FR are set and resources allocated;
- how the UK's capability in FR compares with other countries; and
- are there threats to FR in the UK?
The FCTU have submitted a response to this, following the excellent work carried out by members in FR. Click here to view our response. The Select Committee met this morning and are now reporting evidence to the House of Commons.
Response to the Letter to the Prime Minister - from Jim Paice MP 3rd June 2011
Following the letter sent to the Prime Minister on 8th February, giving him the opportunity to apologise for comments made in the House of Commons earlier this year, we have recieved a response from the DEFRA Minister, whom our letter was passed to. This can be viewed here, although it was clearly not the apology that our members were looking for.
Further Request to Halt SR10 Implementation 27th May 2011
Allan MacKenzie, on behalf of the FCTU has written to the Director General, reqesting that he reconsiders the timing and the implementation of these cuts once again. Click here to view. This was following the article in the times and interview with the Bishop of Liverpool.
Shared Services & GB Core Proposals UPDATED 24th May 2011
It is still not clear when the FC will be in a position to issue the SR10 Silvan House Proposals resulting from the Westminster budget cuts. As there is likely to be significant interest in the Voluntary Early Retirement scheme to be launched in June, we are concerned that many members will be unable to make informed decisions about their future. PCS have written to management asking when they will be in a position to launch the consultation.
Response to 'Shaping the Future of FC England' UPDATED 23rd May 2011
Today the Director General wrote to all staff on the "way forward to 2015". This letter can be viewed here.
The Forestry Commission in England is now faced with dealing with the reality of meeting the 25% reduction in funding and it can only do this by:
- Changing what the Forestry Commission delivers,
- Changing how it delivers it and
- Ensuring that it meets Government objectives.
The Forestry Commission has said that it needs significant reform because it cannot meet the necessary cuts whilst at the same time remain fit for purpose.
Today's announcement is only the beginning.
Further changes will be identified; they will be radical and, they will be designed to focus on reducing direct delivery in more areas.
The programme was understood to be a 4-year process but it already seems to be being squashed into the first two years even though the Advisory Panel’s recommendations are not due for submission until April 2012.
FC Management have announced that they intend:
- To cut around 250 jobs across England with further cuts to follow in Silvan House
- To close sites and offices throughout England
- To put staff at risk of redundancy and forced relocation
- To reduce the services the FC offers to the public
- To look at privatisation and outsourcing of some functions resulting in staff transferring out of the civil service.
Amazingly, DEFRA is still calling for the Forestry Commission to proceed with its cuts agenda despite the strong logic of our case ... even though the Forestry Commission Trade Unions had made the point back in March that it was difficult to see how cuts today can be justified when the Commission won’t know what it is expected to deliver until next Spring.
The Forestry Commission Trade unions have long said that these cuts are unnecessary. Putting hundreds of Commission staff into unemployment makes no financial sense; it will damage those hard working members of staff irretrievably. They will suffer personally, their families will suffer and the communities that they live and work in will suffer.
WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP
Many of you will have realised by now that the future of your role is still undecided, there are many changes still to come that are still unknown with decisions still to be made. There is even the possibility that you might be asked if you would like to leave before you know what’s likely to lie ahead
Look at the following points:
- What are the threats?
- Who is threatened?
- When will the threat be real?
- What are those under threat going to do about it?
If you have any views or comments you would like to make, pass them to your Union Rep so that they can send them through to us.
Many Thanks for your support and help.
Our Response to SR10 (Eng) 1st April 2011
We have now submitted our response to SR10. This can be viewed here, along with the invididual responses from PCS, Prospect and from each of the union meetings across England.
The FCTU are grateful for the opportunity to respond to this consultation, and for the four week extension to the deadline. We however believe that the FC and our Minister have not considered the wider impact of these proposals; insist that the current estate remains in public ownership and is properly resourced; feel the Government must explore the many other ways of meeting their targets; believe the proposed strucutres are not workable; question the validity of this exercise at this time.
FC England management have thanked us for our detailed response and look forward to a constructive staff council meeting on Wednesday 6th April.
FCTU Request to Postpone SR10 Proposals (Eng) 24th March 2011
The FCTU formally requested via a letter to the Director General on 15th March that all SR10 changes within the FC and proposals being undertaken in the Business Units all cease until such a time when we can clearly see what the FC will be delivering into the future. The unions understand the pressure being placed upon the FC at this time and the need to meet the fiscal necessities of SR10 but are very alarmed at the pace and scale of the proposed changes imposed on our members.
The DG's response to this can be viewed here. We are currently considering a response but in the meantime the FCTU will be submitting our response to SR10 and staffing protocol.
SR10 Union Meetings in England UPDATED 17th March 2011
The series of union meetings to discuss SR10 in England are now coming together and a list of meetings arranged or being arranged can be viewed here. If you are unable to attend any of the meetings or wish to respond separately please feel free to do so directly to your respective union representative or contact the FCTU Office.
Shared Services & GB Core Consultation Postponed 3rd March 2011
Colleagues in Shared Services were today made aware from Director HR that the consultation on proposals have had to be put back due to proposals requiring submission to Ministers. The intention is now to launch the consultation sometime in the week commencing 21 March. Director HR's letter to staff.
UPDATED 21st March 2011 Staff have been informed of a further delay to the above via a 2nd letter here.
SR10 Consultation - Request for Extension 25th February 2011 UPDATED
The FCTU are pleased that management have agreed to the consultation period being extended to 1st April. Whilst it prolongs the period of uncertainty, we all recognise that we need time to make constructive feedback that draws upon as much relevant information as possible during these uncertain times.
It is important that FCTU’s collective response to Management, now due on the 6th April, represents the views of the constituent Unions (PCS, Prospect, Unite, GMB) and their members. We now have time to meet locally with members to listen to your concerns and ideas to help formulate this response as well as feedback on the work of the unions.
Whilst it important that individuals and teams respond directly, it is essential that the formal process of feedback through the England Staff Council takes account of members views.
We intend to hold a series of members meetings across England, which we would like to complete by Friday 18th March. Meetings will be subject to sufficient local interest, agreement with cost centre managers and open to all members. We would very appreciate local help both in the co-ordination of meetings and in the recording of key points on the day.
A FCTU committee member will be in contact with your local cost centre manager in the near future.
UKFPA Back Forestry Commission - Letter to PM 23rd February 2011
The UK Forest Products Association have informed us that they are very pleased and relieved to learn of the Government’s decision to abandon its plans to change the ownership and management of the public forest estate in England.
Executive Director David Sulman has too written a letter to the Prime Minister following his "unforgivable" comments about the Forestry Commission during Prime Minister’s questions on 2nd February. David has said with FC staff now facing uncertain futures, the Prime Minister’s comments were "completely unnecessary and uncalled for".
This letter can be viewed here.
SR10 Consultation - Request for Extension 21st February 2011
FC staff are being invited to take part in a staff consultation, probably the most important consultation to take place within the FC’s history. Allan MacKenzie and Robert Beaney have attended all of the staff consultation meetings and there has been one overriding theme to emerge - colleagues have real prime concerns at the lack of a clear proposal of areas of the Forestry Commission to be impacted upon and the lack of adequate time available for them to be able to form a reasoned opinion and make an assessment. The consultation fails to provide a full set of proposals for all of the areas within the Forestry Commission to be affected by the SR10 cuts: we have seen the suspension of the asset sales programme for 11/12 and further scrutiny of the Forest Research submission there have been few, if any details, relating to shared or corporate services submissions. The areas are without doubt interrelated and our members are quite rightly flagging up the need for everyone to be aware of these facts if they are to be allowed to partake meaningfully in the consultation process.
We have therefore requested from FC England management for:
- organograms setting out the current roles and structures in FDs, Regions, National Office etc, so that everyone can compare the existing structures with the proposed new arrangements.
- to have the best estimate for :
- the location and area of woodlands in each new FD
by year (10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 13/14, 14/15).
- the harvesting production and restock programme for each new FD
by year (10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 13/14, 14/15)
- to have full details of current valid EQIA including any updates made because of changes to the proposal.
This information would provide everyone with a much better understanding of the implications of the proposed changes, and hence allow everyone to make a more effective and informed response to the consultation.
The content of the workshops formed the structure for each event and although each one was different for its own reasons, it became apparent early on that staff needed to use this time to absorb and then reabsorb the information they were being given. The FCTU quickly acknowledged that it is was not a time for collecting and assimilating feedback from members it was our role to try to help them understand the full consequences of the information being provided. Staff are still floundering with the package that has been presented and as expected the workshops threw up requests for more information as well as a multitude of views and issues that need to be addressed.
There are serious concerns about the pressure that the one month consultation is placing on us not least because unions need to consult with their respective members and then the FCTU needs to draw together an agreed joint union position. The fluidity of the political landscape makes it even more important that members are given adequate and the correct time to take part. For for the FCTU to meet the needs of its members, FC management and the constituent unions must distil and present everything in a coherent and structured response, therefore we feel delivery by 8 March is not tenable.
We hope to update members as soon as possible with management's response to this request.
FCTU Letter to Prime Minister 8th February 2011
The FCTU were astounded and incensed by the Prime Ministers comments in the house last Wednesday. On a day when proposals to cut a vast number of jobs in the Forestry Commission were announced, David Cameron voiced his belief that woodlands across England would be better managed by others shows complete contempt for FC staff. Robert Beaney, FCTU Chair has written to the PM and this letter can be viewed here.
The professionalism, expertise and commitment that staff in the FC have consistently shown in managing a large and diverse public forest estate is widely recognised by the public. ‘Big Society’ has already spoken with 84% of a recent ‘YouGov’ poll opposing the Governments plans to transfer England’s public forest estate out of public ownership.
It is a sad indictment that those in a privileged position to lead this country feel unable to recognise the outstanding work of their staff.
The FCTU as a collective body along with the individual unions is working hard to:
- Influence the out comes of the Public Bodies bill, seeking the removal of clauses 17 & 18, and the Public Forest Estate consultation.
- Oppose woodland disposals under the current criteria.
- Work with management and staff to ensure we achieve the best possible outcome for our members and the organisation in meeting the challenges of SR10.
We are at a critical time in our history and if we believe in our abilities to improve England’s woodland and forests to the benefit of society then there has never been a more important time to work together.
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