Peter N Baker, Election address for NAFBAE representative to the FRC,  7th October 2000.

Two and a half years ago, following my nomination to council by the Essex Branch, when you asked me to walk through the door of Sefton House, little did I suspect what I would find within. I was confronted with a two headed Dinosaur, one being FRC the other being FTS. By definition a dinosaur is large, slow moving, with a habit of crushing anything that gets in its way.

I would briefly like to outline my thoughts and perceptions of how FRC was then. This organisation was in a time warp, showing very little resemblance to the democracy I had grown up with, and understood to be common across British Society. It didn't even have public minutes. My immediate feelings were that this NAFBAE appointee could instantly change this system, as John Ford recently wrote in Forge 2000, " Wrong ". Very quickly I found out that this organisation was not even reading from the same hymn sheet let alone singing the same song. I could winge on for hours about the short comings of FRC, its form of democracy, and idea of justice towards the members of the trade that make up its register. You, two years and a half years ago entrusted me with the task of being your representative, it is probably enough to say it is being dealt with, the old guard is all but gone, we, council that is, shortly will have a new chair person, the under pinning organisation has also been revamped or replaced. A new day is dawning, hopefully 21st century democracy will soon rule.

You may have picked up that I mentioned justice, two years ago our farriery membership had no formal element within this association to help and advise them in the event of them falling foul of their registration body. James Todd took it upon himself to fight in the members corner against a body who were, and still are prepared to coerce comment from a member of this association, who is then placed by them under threat of penalty and sanction for failing to respond to the pressure. The action is calculated to force our member to respond which almost invariably happens. FRC can then use the coerced response to frame disciplinary charges against our member. I have yet to be convinced that this doesn't contravene our members statutory right of silence, and in my humble opinion is totally contrary to natural justice. It was this type of injustice that led the executive committee to set up a consultant and advisory group consisting of messers Todd, Cronin and Preston, to offer support and assist in the defence of farrier members against disciplinary action bought by FRC. All that is needed to be done is that a distressed member contacts one of them personally in the strictest confidence, they will furnish the member with advice, and if agreed will speak with your appointee on the FRC investigating committee to seek procedural guidance, they will even assist you regarding claiming from the block insurance scheme, to which hopefully you all subscribe, this covers the cost of a legal defence team to who the member will be directed.

A lot of the work on the reconstruction of FRC, and its rules and regulations is now near completion, things have dramatically changed and some are still changing. There is however a very long way still to go with the reform of The Farrier Training Service, the satellite body of FRC, this is something that all you who train apprentices will know, those rude letters, the authoritarian attitude towards the only two bodies that physically get involved in training, I refer to the ATFs and the Colleges. The attitude of FTS has to change. If I am re-elected it will be my goal to make FTS accountable, firstly to FRC, and then to the trade. At present it doesn't even report quarterly to FRC, its only responsibility is to the Registrar, who is in fact the head of FTS and derives a substantial part of his salary from it. I ask is he likely to discipline himself ? I think not. I am not alone in the belief that FTS should be made accountable, and it must become more consumer friendly.

I thank you for listening to me, and I leave you with a comment made by a senior member of council, when I asked how we were going to get things changed, the reply came, " In order to devour a dinosaur first you have to reduce it to bite sized chunks ".

Thank you,

Peter N Baker.

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