Present:

Lord Home, President
Robert Irvine, Chairman
John Swift, Chief Executive

44 Members of the Association together with staff members and guests
 
Minute Secretary: Amanda Forshaw  

The Chief Executive called the meeting to order and invited the IPS Secretary to make some administrative announcements prior to the start of the meeting.

The IPS Secretary informed members that the proceedings were being tape recorded for the purposes of assisting with the preparation of the Minutes.  Speakers were requested to provide their names when speaking from the floor, and luncheon, fire and emergency arrangements were detailed.  Supporters and guests  were reminded that whilst they were most welcome to attend the Annual General Meeting they do not hold voting rights.

The President, Lord Home, then opened the meeting.

1.   Apologies for Absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Simon Breasley, Alan Balfour, Mike Robinson, Colin Shedden, Andrew Macfarlane, Tom Wylie, John Graham, Duncan Greaves, Richard Playle, Mike Russell, Joanne Robertson, David Pryor, Nick Ridley, Simon Trinder, Simon Parrington, Anthony Holliday, Alan Jarrett and Arthur Thirlwell.

The Chief Executive paid tribute to a number of prominent friends who had passed away during the last twelve months.  In particular: John Fuller, Chris Catlin, Sir Martin Doughty, Tom Shone, John Anthony Quinn, Squadron Leader Mike Townsend, Mike Anthony, Colin Cozens and Jim Waddell.

The Chief Executive requested a moment’s silence in memory of past members and absent friends.

2. President’s Address 

Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since we last met at last year’s AGM the world really has turned upside down and it is very hard to believe the extraordinary events which affected the banking world last autumn and our political system only a few short weeks ago, culminating in the extraordinary European election results last Sunday. 

Looking at the banking crisis, although governments, regulators, the media, and to some degree the public, all exacerbated the crisis, there is no doubt that bankers must take the lion’s share of the blame.  The senior management in banks right across the world simply did not know what was going on underneath them.  The chaos in Parliament: parliamentarians brought the whole pack of cards down around their heads, entirely through their own actions.  So parliamentarians and bankers are not exactly the flavour of the month and you are looking at someone who is both and I am therefore very grateful that you have not all got up and walked at this juncture. 

But, you never know, some good may come out of these crises, which might be of some good to your Association.  Redundant investment bankers might make very good beaters.  Idle computers can calculate how much swing you need to bring down a pheasant in a high wind, and their WAGS (wives and girlfriends) could be excellent flankers, waving their Dior dresses, thus obviating the need for flags.  The possibilities are endless. 

Returning to politics, organised by Members of Parliament, the taxpayer is kindly financing more nesting places for ducks.  The tax payer is also kindly financing moats to be dug out to allow more nesting places for wildfowl, coots and moorhens.  Horse manure is being spread, encouraging insects for partridges, and the cover will increase in gardens for small birds to go from bush to bush, lovingly tended by thirty thousand pounds worth of garden tools. Therefore, we ought to be extremely grateful to those Members of Parliament who have taken the interests of BASC so much to heart.  I have to admit that I have some sixty nesting boxes at home for swifts, flycatchers and goldeneye.  However, you will see if you look me up on Wikipedia that I am afraid I have not had the inventiveness of my colleagues in the House of Commons and have never charged for the cost of these boxes, nor indeed any other expenses to the taxpayer, so I have been very uninventive myself.  But, on a more serious note, it is a sorry chapter in our history and it will, I am afraid, take time to restore the public’s faith in our democratic system. 

Turning to our own affairs, it may be that because life and the filling in of forms have become more complicated that our Firearms Department responded to over five thousand queries last year.  That is a staggering twenty enquiries for every working day of the year.  The potential for getting these forms wrong or doing something, albeit unwittingly, that is wrong, with regard to firearms is really quite possible and it is therefore an extremely important part of the work of the Association to answer these questions, for without the answers those five thousand people may well have never have got, or indeed may have had a firearm confiscated. 

Legislation currently going through Parliament concerns the right of anyone to walk around the coast of Britain, but I don’t swim – I cannot see the point of that.  However, they are determined to do it and BASC has worked with Natural England on the proposal.  It sounds lovely in theory but it could become a nightmare for wildfowlers and conservationists. 

As I say, we work with Natural England and it is also essential that we are working with and listening to wildfowling associations, and other such shooting interests for they are the best people to advise on local conditions.  But making a path can also be detrimental to conservation, for the Health & Safety people are likely to get at you.  It has to be of a standard where somebody is able to get along in a wheelchair, etc, etc.;  that, we have to be careful about.  I had some personal experience of this when a lady walked around the lake at home, where I encourage people to come into the park.  She tripped over a tree root and got her skirt muddy and she was encouraged by the local Health & Safety Executive lady to send me the bill for cleaning her skirt.  I asked my lawyers whether I had to reimburse her and it turned out in fact that I didn’t, but the bill for that advice was ten times the cost of the cleaning.  One cannot really win on these ones.

I don’t believe that anyone will know the effects that the next two or three years of recession will have on us.  It will certainly be painful for some.  There are already signs that fewer people are taking shooting and some estates which rely on days for survival are really suffering. There will be more people invading the countryside as they cannot afford to go abroad on holiday, with the budget airlines going into liquidation possibly.  Possibly, instead of the huge bags that used to be demanded by hedge-fund managers we will be looking at small bags and perhaps more emphasis on rough shooting.  Your Association has to therefore be flexible to adapt to different conditions.  If you asked ten economists what is going to happen you would get eleven different answers. They talk about “V” shaped recoveries, they talk about double dip, “W” shaped recoveries and that those recoveries might become “L” or “U” shaped.  Probably the most accurate answer was given by the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, when he was asked by an enquirer what was going to happen:  “Well” he said, quite confidently, “there will be a VL recovery”.  The puzzled enquirer asked him to elaborate.  “VL” he said “stands for Vera Lynn – don’t know where, don’t know when”.  So, if the Governor does not know, who does?  When it comes, I wish you all a very successful season.  Thank you.

3. Awards & Presentations

The President called upon the Chief Executive to announce the presentation of awards:-

The Stanley Duncan Conservation Trophy

The trophy is awarded annually to the member or group of members who, in the opinion of Council, have contributed most during the preceding twelve months to the cause of conservation. The trophy was awarded to :-

The Great Yarmouth Wildfowling & Conservation Association.

The Ian Richardson Trophy

The trophy is awarded to the person who, in the view of the employees, has done most for the Association in recent years.  The trophy was awarded to:-

Joanna Robertson.

The Tim Sedgwick Trophy

The Tim Sedgwick Trophy was awarded to Mike Russell MSP.

Special Presentations

David Pryor  received a special presentation in recognition of his very professional and objective advice to the Association on forensic science and firearms matters.
 
Christopher Graffius received a special presentation on behalf of Nick Ridley in recognition of his support to the Association in the field of photography.
 
Duncan Thomas received a special presentation in recognition of his work for the Association.

Simon Hamlyn received a special presentation on behalf of Simon Trinder  in recognition of his support to BASC.

Edi Albert received a special presentation in recognition of his work as a Shotgun Coach for BASC.

Peter Knox received a special presentation in recognition of his work as a Shotgun Coach for BASC.

Robin Crossley received a special presentation in recognition of his contribution to the Green Shoots Programme.

Simon Cussons received a special presentation in recognition of his work chairing the BASC Centenary committee.

Steve Wilson and Clive Gibbons received special presentations in recognition of their work as Shotgun Coaches for BASC.

4. Chairman’s Report

The President called upon the Chairman, Robert Irvine, to present his report.

Good Morning My Lord President, Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentleman,

I stand before you as Chairman of BASC’s governing Council at the end of the first year of our second century of operation. I reported last year at the mid point of our centenary celebrations and few could have predicted how dramatically both the political and economic climate could have changed in between.  But before turning to the challenges presented by that change I would like to review the past twelve months for our Association. 

Firstly I would like to reflect on the centenary activities undertaken by both members and staff.  The celebrations were a very appropriate recognition of a remarkable milestone.  Many events took place.  Significant gestures were made.  Substantial funds were raised and committed to securing the future of shooting.  And we began our second century in very good heart indeed.  We celebrated our centenary year with a record membership of approximately one hundred and thirty thousand members.  That’s a remarkable achievement and one that deserves to be noted: one hundred and thirty thousand people.  Indeed, one hundred and thirty thousand people who make us what we are;  who are investing in the future of the sport for themselves, their children and indeed their grandchildren;  who choose BASC as the organisation that they wish to support and to have represent them.  They don’t choose to be with us just because we’re the biggest; indeed, they don’t choose to be with us just because we are the oldest;  they don’t even choose to be with us just because we provide the best insurance policy around;  and again, they don’t just choose to be members because we have offices in every one of the home countries and in the English regions; and they don’t choose to be with us because we are the only shooting association to have dedicated Conservation and Land Management, Shooting Standards, Research and  Communications Departments.  They choose to be with us because we are effective;  because we are respected by Governments in Westminster, in Europe, in Holyrood and indeed in Belfast and Cardiff;  because we are unflinching in defending our sport and because we have form.  We have been at the forefront for decades and we remain there not by good luck but because of good leadership from our Council and our Chief Executive, and great efforts backed up by our staff and loyalty and commitment from our members and those shooters who choose to do the right thing in pursuit of their sport.

So what will the next century bring?  The past year has indeed shown that few of us can predict with any great accuracy the details of how events will unfold.  However, we can plan to ensure that we are well set up to face whatever comes to us, and that leads me to the imminent creation of our new Communications Centre which hopefully should be beginning in about another ten days.  This is a major commitment for the Association and one which Council has not entered into lightly.  We have commenced a substantial capital investment, one which shows our confidence in the strength of the Association and the health of shooting sports.  It also reflects the need to be well equipped to embrace the challenges that face our sport, whether man-made, such as the impact of events, or natural, such as disease or weather.  It demonstrates our commitment to be prepared, to invest in the future of the sport for all shooters, whether already our members or those yet to join us,  to ensure balanced comment in the media, whether via traditional newspapers and television, or the increasingly influential new media and to celebrate the heritage, values and sheer enjoyment of shooting, and share these with a very wide public. 

Earlier on I mentioned the economy and the shocks that have gone through the world and through the political system in the past year.  We are in unchartered territory but have some navigation points that are visible.  We are less than a year away from a general election;  indeed the recent European and local elections have sent a clear signal to the present Government that the electorate is seeking change.  We, as an Association, need to be engaged with all parties.  We need to be ready to take advantage of whatever shifts that occur in political control.  We need to show that the shooting community is united and strong and that BASC represents it at all levels.  Despite our understandable pride in the work of the Association, the level of recruitment and retention is surprisingly buoyant.  Downturns elsewhere in the economy have affected our members but they do not appear to have filtered through to membership levels yet.  Our members clearly recognise the need to stand firm at this time of change and to ensure that the Association is in good health.  Whilst we are pleased with this, we are not complacent and we are not unsympathetic.  That is why earlier this year we took a decision to try to support members who are experiencing difficulty, by introducing a substantially reduced rate for people in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance. It is a small but significant move which we believe has been well received by the membership.  We will continue to try to respond with initiatives to ensure we emerge from the current economic storm even leaner and fitter than when it started.  So, looking back at our century, our centenary celebrations, we have cause to be proud.  Looking to the present, we are just embarking on a major investment in our Communications Centre that shows us to be confident, successful and effective.  Looking to the future, we can only guess as to the detail of the challenges we shall face, but we can be confident we have laid outstanding foundations from which to face whatever comes our way.  The next twelve months will be difficult and will require planning, preparation, skill, expertise and courage. All qualities that our founding fathers possessed for wildfowling and which they applied to the founding of this Association.  We are fortunate still to have those qualities in abundance within the Association today and I know they will take us forward into our second century.  I thank you very much indeed. 

And now, as tradition goes, I will take any questions from the floor with regard to detailed content though I don’t promise to answer them,  I will probably direct them to those more suited to reply.

There were no questions.

 5. Adoption of the Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements for the Year Ending 31st December, 2008.

The President invited the Chairman, Robert Irvine, to present the Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31st December, 2008.

There were no questions on the Annual Report or the Audited Financial Statements and both were duly adopted.

6. Elections

The President called upon the Chief Executive to introduce the elections

(a)  Honorary Life Members

By a show of hands honorary life membership was awarded to:

Derek Jones, in recognition of his contribution to the Traeth Bach Wildfowlers Association, BASC and to wildfowling.

Walter Cole,in recognition of his service to BASC, Council and gamekeeping.

Julian Novorol, in recognition of his long standing support to the Association.

Emrys Heard in recognition of his long standing support to the Association.

Huw Trefor Phillips, in recognition of his twenty five years as Secretary of the South Wales Joint Council of Wildfowling Clubs.

(b)  Members of Council

The President informed the meeting that there had been four applicants for seven vacant seats on Council and therefore a ballot had not been required.  Under the BASC Constitution, therefore, those who stood as candidates would be automatically elected subject to confirmation at the Annual General Meeting.  There were five national seats to be filled and three candidates came forward,  one candidate stood for the Scottish seat and there were no candidates for Wales, where the seat remains vacant.

By a show of hands Alan Balfour (Scotland), Helen Cormack, Peter Glenser, and Michael Smith were all duly elected to Council.

(a) Wildlife Habitat Trust – Trustees for 2009/2010

The President introduced the nominations for the election of Trustees for the Wildlife Habitat Trust.

Alan Jarrett and Anthony Holliday had each been duly proposed and seconded and had signified his willingness to serve.  By a show of hands both were duly elected

7.  Appointment of Auditors for 2009/2010

The President proposed that Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP be re-appointed as auditors for the year ending December 2009.

The motion was carried and Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP was duly re-appointed as auditor.

8.  Motions for Debate

The Chief Executive presented and explained in detail the context and consequences of the motion proposed by Council that the Association’s Rules be amended as follows :-

1. By inserting at paragraph (i) of Rule 5 the following additional sub-paragraph:

“(v)   if he is in breach of the provision of Rule 6(e) and the Council has  resolved by a two-thirds majority that his office be vacated.”; and

2. by inserting in Rule 6 the following additional paragraph:

“(e) A Council member or member of any committee shall declare an interest  in any contract or matter in which he or she (or any person connected to  such member) has a personal material or financial interest, whether  directly or indirectly, and shall not vote in respect of such contract or  matter.  For the purposes of this paragraph (e), a person connected to a  Council member or a member of  any committee shall include :-

(i) a child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother or sister of such a member;

(ii) the spouse or civil partner of such a member or anyone falling within (i) above.

(iii) a person carrying on business in partnership with such a member or with any person falling within (i) or (ii) above,

(iv) an institution which is controlled by such a member or any person falling within (i),(ii) or (iii) above has (or in which two or more persons, taken together, have) more than one-fifth of the voting rights.”

The motion was moved and carried and subject to the approval of the Registrar of Friendly Societies the change will be incorporated in the Association’s rules.

9. Any Other Business by Leave of the Chairman

There was no other business and accordingly the meeting was closed.