Licensed to Practise

My work with the Trust and Lantra give me the enjoyable combination of practical outcomes at county level and influencing strategy and policy at UK level. This work also gives me insight into the advantages and drawbacks of trying to work with Government.

The Wildlife Trust is a registered charity that is not at all restricted in its activities, other than to fulfil its members’ wishes whilst observing legal and regulatory obligations. That means that it is free to focus on its Vision of a Living Gloucestershire, rich in wildlife, valued by everyone. The Trust spends the monies that it raises through membership subscriptions and other fundraising on the county’s wildlife as it pleases, unrestricted by Government policy.

Lantra is also a charity that must observe rules and regulations at UK and Scottish level. But its special status is that, being licensed by all four Governments as a Sector Skills Council (SSC); it receives special funding to carry out specific qualifications and business development work. The downside to being the only body that represents all 17 of the industries that make up the environmental and land based sector, is the very thing that gives Lantra is status – its license to practise.

In 2006 Lord Leitch published a report commissioned on the future skills needs of the UK. In implementing most of the Leitch recommendations a decision was made by the UK Government both to set up a new regulatory body, the UKCES, and to carry out a review of all 25 SSCs.

Relicensing is now almost complete with the last group of five SSCs reaching the assessment stage. The principal source of evidence for the UKCES on Lantra’s performance is a detailed report drawn up by the National Audit Office. With Peter Martin, Lantra’s CEO, I will be interviewed by commissioners Sir Charlie Mayfield (Chairman of John Lewis Partnership) and Grahame Smith (General Secretary of the STUC) on Wednesday. I am confident that Lantra’s licence will be approved, but working with government means that this is not the end of the story.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Industry and Skills, is currently contemplating restructuring the skills framework for England. My worry is that one of the options under consideration could end the SSC network in favour of regional skills strategies drafted and overseen by the Regional Development Agencies. Whilst this might seem sensible, the damage for the 17 industries currently covered by Lantra would be that they do not rank highly alongside the usual suspects when measured in terms of GDP, employment footprint and urban relevance. In regional skills strategies environmental conservation, like forestry, horticulture and agriculture are very likely to be invisible, ignored and unsupported.

The excellent work that Lantra has carried out over the years would be wasted within a regional structure and organisations in the sector would not have a skills champion with vision, expert knowledge and a holistic industry view. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has benefited from several of Lantra’s skills initiatives. The environmental and land based industries would be damaged by the loss of the SSC network. The next few months will be critical in resolving the future of the skills framework for England.