Chairman's Chat

Last Updated on Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:50

Chairman's Notes for January

British Beekeepers Association Annual Delegates Meeting

Stoneleigh - January 2010

Old hands skip this paragraph. For all our new beekeepers, the ADM is where BBKA policy is set. Candidates are elected to the executive and exam board. A delegate is sent from each Area Association Member to vote, often with a mandate from the associations committee or council. Our AAM is Surrey Beekeepers Association. Because AAM’s vary in size, voting is weighted according to the number of members. Across the eight divisions that make up Surrey BKA we have around 600 members so we have a significant vote. Voting is in two stages. Most votes are taken by a simple show of hands. For contentious issues, a card vote is called and the relative weightings of the delegate votes are calculated.

Minutes will eventually be published on the BBKA website.  The review of educational policy is under way and the BBKA are keen to promote practical skills. There will be a five stage ladder, allowing us to self assess our level of competency. Beginner, Novice, Improver, Proficient, Master and leader. A ‘course in a box’ is being developed. This is designed to encourage beekeepers to teach and includes instruction on how to deliver a lesson. Practical training, including a ‘train the trainer’ project will run alongside the existing exam system.

Sussex University’s study of hygienic bees will be supported with a grant of £12,000 per year for three years.

The Surrey Shield for best performance in encouraging members to take the’ basic’ went to Buckinghamshire. The chairman was kind enough to acknowledge that Surrey had every right to be aggrieved and thanked us for being magnanimous in defeat! We achieved 43 passes. The nearest to us was Devon with 29 and Bucks had 25. The shield is spread around to encourage all the member associations. Humph!!

Capitation is budgeted to remain at £14 until the end of the 2011 – 2012 year. A major sponsorship deal has been agreed with Saga involving adopting hives. Full details will be in BBKA News and Saga Magazine.

The hot topics were pesticide endorsement and withdrawal from the FERA project board. The pesticide issue was fully debated last year and would not normally have been eligible for discussion for three years. However, there are ways around the three year rule and the executive was keen not to be seen to stifle debate. Discussion flowed back and forward as it always does. You can read the details in the minutes. The outcome was a card vote with 9,829 votes against the motion to withdraw from pesticide endorsement, 4,588 in favour of withdrawal and 1,025 abstentions. So for now we carry on as we are.

The proposition that would have required the executive to return to the FERA Healthy Bees Project Board prompted Tim Lovett to relinquish the chair so that he could address the meeting with his own experiences of the issue. Tim outlined the issues that prompted withdrawal by the BBKA. These include a lack of consultation and cooperation, failure by FERA to provide information about how the money allocated to NBU will be spent, the fact that the BBKA Research Concepts document has never been discussed and FERA’s unauthorised use of a mailing list from the BBKA database. Tim displayed a budget spread sheet that had eventually been received from FERA. It contained so many blacked out cells it could have come straight from the enquiry into MP’s expenses! Tim went on to point out that the same executive members that left the FERA board have an excellent working relationship with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate – so demonstrating that they are perfectly capable of working with a government department. Ivor Davis, who was also involved, said FERA had tried to imply that there was a split of opinion among BBKA negotiators and that Tim was isolated. This was not the case and the decision was agreed by all involved. There is still dialogue between BBKA and FERA and the ADM delegates made it clear that they hoped the BBKA would be able to return to the board under the right circumstances. Compelling the executive would have been close to a vote of no confidence. 39 delegates voted against the motion, 7 for it and 10 abstained so the decision to rejoin or not is in the hands of the BBKA executive.

These notes barely scratch the surface of the meeting. It started at 10.30am and finished after 6pm with only a very short lunch break so a lot of ground was covered. I’m very happy to provide further information to any member and I would refer you to Beecraft and BBKA News which will carry in depth reports.

Bob Maurer (Surrey delegate to the ADM)

Bob Maurer  07740 707500 

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