ARCHIVE - frc 2009

February 2009 - Forge Magazine

 

Archive - Forge Magazine - February 2009
A report of the FRC Council Meeting held in London on November 12, 2008

Apologies were received from Chris Nixon, Mark Weston and Peter Baker.
Report of the activities of the FTA
Howard Cooper gave a report on the activities of the FTA. Peter Ablett also attended the meeting in order to answer questions from the Council Members.
The FTA had been aiming to reach Training Quality Standard (TQS) a new ‘higher standard’ for accreditation of training. However, early indications were that the FTA would be referred prior to validation, making it difficult to achieve, but the FTA would continue to strive to achieve it.
The Farriery Training Agency Management Board (FTAMB) rules that board members can only serve two terms concurrently, Mr Cooper reported that all three board members had been invited to stand again and all three had agreed to do so. Mr Cooper explained that the reason for this was to avoid the board losing all of its experienced members at the same time, however, he said that it had also been agreed that their departures from their extended terms of office would be staggered.
Self assessment FTA reports, as required by the Learning and Skills Council, would be available on the website as soon as they had been approved.
Myerscough College had taken on all the students that had been displaced from Oatridge College and its help in solving the matter was acknowledged. Oatridge had reaffirmed its commitment to recommence training, but it was pointed out that because the course would be starting from scratch a Visitation Panel would need to undertake a visit beforehand.
All the colleges had maximised their intake so that a total of 71 apprentices had enrolled. It was reported that there are currently 404 ATFs but that this figure would drop as some had not taken their L11 certificate.
Operational development plan
The operational development plan for 2009 was presented to the FRC Council for endorsement. Mr Ablett reported that 90 per cent of apprentices achieved NVQ level 3, which was twice the national average. He reminded Council that as 32 per cent of the apprentices had additional learning needs, this result was remarkable, and was testament to the enthusiasm of the apprentices and the ATFs.
He reported that a change was to be imposed by the Government in that would set the entry standard to a requirement for 5 GCSEs.
The FTA report was adopted unanimously.
Registration Committee
Firstly, Brigadier Roache outlined the recommendation that the EFFA standard ‘Certified Euro-farrier’ should be accepted in principle for the purpose of registration, subject to individual verification of each qualification by the Visitation Panel. EFFA’s Euro-farrier is the recognition of a training system, explained Brigadier Roache. Mr Fox then pointed out that EFFA’s approval provided accreditation of an association not a country. For example, he said, Denmark had two farrier organisations, one of which had gained approval while the other had not. Certified Euro-farrier standard was based on the NVQ 3 not the Diploma examination. Council members concluded that this was a topic that required further detailed consideration and it was referred back to the Registration Committee.
Secondly, the Registration Committee recommended that those residing in Part 3 of the Register should no longer receive registration cards. This was carried unanimously.
Disciplinary Committee
The Committee had received one application for registration through appeal. As it was supported by additional documentary evidence and the testimony of a witness the appeal was accepted.
Finance Committee
The charges for 2009 would be increased in line with that of the retention fee. These items were approved.
The various budgets – FRC central services, FTA and so on – were unanimously approved.
The Committee recommended that the audit tender should be delayed by a year until it was known whether or not the FTA was to separate from the FRC. This was carried.
The Committee debated the complaints procedure for Council Members and agreed that the proposals of the Audit Committee, as revised by Mr Weston, could be afforded
The Finance Committee had also looked at the advantages and disadvantages of separation of the FTA from the FRC. It believed that the two bodies should not be separated any more than they currently were. Having considered the paper presented by the Finance Committee the Council Members agreed that there seemed to be no major benefit to separate the organisations since they were already recognised a two distinct bodies with different roles.
As a result, it was agreed unanimously that it was not financially viable to split the organisations.
Governance review
It was proposed that a working party be set up comprising three members of Council, including the Chairman, plus a member of FTAMB and the WCF, assisted by the Training Director and the Registrar. This was carried.
It was reported that Mr Hargreaves had stood down from Finance Committee and Mr Dyer would take his place.
Visitation
A visit had been made to Myerscough to see how the college was coping with the extra apprentices. It was reported that the college had added a mobile forge to its facilities and had reconfigured the classroom space. The college was also particularly strong in the calibre of its staff.
Defra meeting
Officials from Defra had recently visited Sefton House to meet with the Chairman, Mr Curtis, Brigadier Roache and Council staff. There had been no change in policy over allowing EU farriers to work in the UK despite the House of Lords debate. The Registrar re-emphasised that the registration fee goes towards administering the EU directive so it was therefore unfair that EU farriers did not have to pay to register.
Defra advised the Council it would need the support of other Member States to make a case to reclassify farriery in Directive, as it is currently listed as metalworking without any reference to animal welfare. However, it is recognised that it is unlikely to get a change in Europe.
Regulatory Reform Order
Using a Regularly Reform Order would be a way of updating the Farriers Registration Act without opening the Act. The Council needed a working group to look at regulatory reform and it proposed that this should be the joint responsibility of the Council, the Company and NAFBAE.
Finally it was noted that Mr Hargreaves and Mr Chalmers had stood down and would be replaced in March. Mr Gibson would also leave the Council soon because of changes within the British Horseracing Authority. All retiring members were thanked for their many years of commitment and service.

The next meeting will be held on 5 March 2009. All Council Meetings are open to members of the profession, the press and the public. In order to confirm details of location and timing, and to gain access, applications (in writing, by email or telephone) to attend must be made to the Council offices at least three days before any meeting (email [email protected], telephone 01733 319911). Meetings usually start at 10.30 and finish at about 15.30. Meetings are held in March, June and November in London.