Forestry Commission Trade Unions - www.fctu.org.uk
FCTU Forest Research
Guidance For Reps
The FCTU Forest Research Committee is one of the FCTU's six area teams and is responsible for leading on the FCTU's work in Forest Research.
Review of Forest Research
Information on the 2008 FR Review has been moved: click here for further information on the review.
New Chief Executive for FR
16th May 2008
The joint unions have today welcomed the appointment of a new Chief Executive for Forest Research. We are hopeful that James's previous roles in other research institutions coupled with his recent association with the research commissioning side of the FC will enable him to establish a stronger long-term vision for the agency, as well as to introduce clearer and more robust management processes particularly in the area of financial control.
However James's appointment does come at a difficult time for the agency. At the last meeting of the FR Staff Council held on 9th May, we were informed by Peter Freer-Smith that the agency's anticipated budget settlement for 08/09 will necessitate a formal review of staffing levels, and that some redundancies can not be ruled out. This review is in addition to the review of the role of TSU's announced as part of the the Inventory and Forecasting Review Report.
After an initial meeting with James on 5th June, the joint unions are due to meet with FR managers on 20th June to discuss the full implications of the budget settlement as well as the scope of any review. Given the level of concern at the workloads already being asked of some staff (especially those in TSU) it will be important that we have a clear picture of James's vision for FR, as well as the impact of both the Inventory and Forecasting Review and the proposed Climate Change Centre, as well as a new financial management structure for FR, prior to looking again at staffing levels.
Forest Research Staff Council
24th Mar 2008
Following a series of suggestions from the joint unions, a few weeks ago we made changes to the Staff Council structure for FR. The Staff Councils are the main fora through which the unions liaise with senior managers and promote the interests of union members. For the last few years there have been two such councils covering Forest Research; one each for NRS and Alice Holt. However we have now agreed that these two councils will now be combined into a single Forest Research Staff Council. We hope that the three main benefits of this will be:
- To provide greater efficiency (all FR staff council reps are volunteers, and combining meetings will help with pressures on their workload)
- To provide a better forum for discussing some of the big issues that affect all FR staff (such as agency restructuring)
- To provide better representation for members based in field stations around the UK.
The joint unions' NOC for FR is the parent body which decides union policy on FR issues, and this will meet one month prior to each staff council meeting in order to agree agenda items. The next meeting of the FR NOC will take place on 9th April 2008, and if you have any questions or would like to raise any issues, then please contact Lorraine Adams based at Alice Holt.
Inventory and Forecasting Review
18th Apr 2008
The consultation period on the review has now closed: joint unions' response.
11th Mar 2008
The Inventory & Forecasting Review has now reached a stage where draft scenarios have been drawn up and approved by the Project Board, and TUS members have been invited to help analyse these by submitting comments on the various options. Individual meetings with over 60 staff and several larger group meetings have already been held, and written comments are now sought to help shape the best way forward.
A copy of the consultation document is available here: Consultation Document, which contains:
- A Report setting out the purpose, background, context, scenario methodology, Project board deliberations, future scenario options, funding & next steps.
- Answers to some key questions: 9 key questions along with answers.
- Stakeholder Consultation: You are invited to respond to these 6 questions.
These documents have also been sent to OSU, TSU and BSSD Team Leaders/Heads of Divisions, and I know that many members will have offered comments through these channels. However we should also like to submit a combined view from union members, and would welcome your feedback to enable us to do this. In you would like to contribute to the unions' response then please submit your comments though Lorraine Adams by Friday 28 March 2008. Many thanks.
Workload Survey
UPDATED 24th Mar 2008
An expanded set of results of the workload survey are now available: expanded results. The findings of the survey will be discussed at the joint unions' meeting on 9th April, and with senior managers on 9th May.
18th Jan 2008
Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in the FR Workload survey which ran throughout most of December. This proved to be a very successful exercise with over 170 responses. A summary of the initial results is now available and a detailed report will be posted as soon as a full analysis has been completed: Initial Results.
3rd Dec 2007
Over the last few months the joint unions have received a growing number of comments and concerns about the increase in workload for some FR staff. In order to gauge the extent of these concerns, we have drawn up a short survey which should take about two minutes to complete. In order to get a balanced response we should be grateful if as many FR staff as possible could complete the survey. The survey is open until 20th December, and the results will be published early in the New Year. Any action points will be taken forward with senior managers, though all individual responses will remain confidential.
FR staff please click here to complete the survey: Forest Research Workload Survey.