A.G.M. 1978 - Birmingham

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT THE WEST MIDLANDS FIRE SERVICE, HEADQUARTERS, BIRMINGHAM, ON WEeNESDAY 19TH APRIL, 1978

The meeting was opened by Mr. T. Lister, M.I. Fire E., Chief Fire Officer of the West Midlands Fire Service who welcomed the 56 members and 9 visitors present:-

Apologies The Honorary Secretary reported the receipt of 39 apologies from members who were unable to attend the meeting.

Minutes

The minutes of the 1977 Annual General Meeting (previously circulated) were put to the meeting. It was proposed by Mr. J. Thompson, seconded by Mr. B. Lowe that they be accepted, this was agreed by the meeting.

Matters Arising There were no matters arising.

Chairman's Report

The Chairman Mr. B. T. A. Collins in his address added his welcome to that of Mr. Lister and thanked members for their continuing support as demonstrated by their presence that morning, he said:"During my year of office I have not had the privilege to attend meetings of branches due to the continuing need to stabilise our income and continue the reduced level of expenditure. I am certain that you will shortly hear from the Treasurer that these efforts have borne fruit and that in the future the Association will move into an era of normality. It was regrettable that there was no further encouragement, at least not in tangible form, which local authorities are giving to the Association in recognition of the part which branches have played in promoting technical education in the petroleum field. As a result of informal discussions with members I am quite sure that you are fully aware of the need to broaden still further the base of Gur membership. Although the year has been one of retrenchment it has still required a considerable amount of thought, time and effort from the officers of the Association as will respective reports. indeed to have this be seen in their I am very pleased opportunity to pay warm tribute to these officers for all their hard work on our behalf and especially to the Honorary Secretary for his work at National level dealing with petroleum and explosives matters which to enhance the reputation of the Association". Honorary Secretary's Report Mr. J. Frid commenced his report by reviewing the membership situation which he said had reduced slightly during the past year. It was most important he said, for all members to keep the pressure on and take every opportunity that came to recruit new members for only by doing this could we continue to operate as a viable body. He gave the membership totals as:

Members 158 Associates 114 Bul./Subscribers 39

The Honorary Secretary went on to review the past year which he said had again been inhibited due to the need for continuing economy, a situation which he hoped the Honorary Treasurer would have better news about in his report. There had been a considerable volume of both telephone and written enquiries from members and other concerning petroleum metters during the year, and it was obvious from these that the Association still fulfills an important and necessary role in this field. The Honorary Secretary further reported that there had been no meetings of the Council during the year, again due to the need for economy, but that the Associations' business had been satisfactorily conducted by telephone and correspondence. He had attended three meetings with officers of the Health and Safety Executive during the

'i, year to discuss matters pertaining to future legislation which he said would be touched upon by our speaker later in the day. '!he Secretary has also been asked to prepare a paper for a one day conference that the Health and Safety Executive proposed to hold later that

____ _ _ Finally, the Honorary Secretary spoke of the various Branch activities that were going on, and stressed that this was the life blood of the Association. During the year meetings of the London and South Eastern, Yorkshire and Eastern branches had been held to the benefit of all who had attended. It was with regret, therefore, that he reported on the resignation of the Chairman of the Midlands Branch, and the lack of activity from that branch which he had, in company with others of the Association's Officers, helped to inaugurate after the reorganisation of Local Government.

In ·conclusion the Honorary Secretary thanked the Officers and Members of the Association for their help and support during the year.

Honorary Treasurer's Report The Honorary Treasurer reported that the Association was in a much better financial position by the end of the year in spite of the increase in price of postage, stationary, telephoning etc., The present method of printing had proved to be satisfactory and was much less expensive. All expenses had been cut to the minimum so that the previous year's deficit had been cleared and a reasonable credit balance remained.

He thanked the Chairman, the Hon. Secretary and the Hon. Editor for their support throughout the year and for their co-operation in keeping costs at the lowest possible level.

After giving his formal report the

Honorary Treasurer was congratulated by members for his efforts in steering the Association's finances into qUieter waters during the year so enabling the current balances to take on a healthier look. The question of capitation fees to Branches was raised again, the considerable discussion followed. The Association's Rules were quoted, and finally Branch Secretary's were advised to submit any claims for such fees direct to the Honorary Treasurer and accompany such claims with their current Branch membership lists for verification The Honorary Editor, Mr. J.S. Crewe reported that since his last annual report to the Association, three issues of "The Bulletin" had been printed and distributed. This was one less than had been hoped, and because of the "slippage" of the due publishing dates, the gaps between issues had been enlarged. It was hoped to tighten up the publishing schedule to avoid this problem in 1978/1979.

Some new contributors had emerged, the editor revealed, due in part to his appeal for articles at the 1977 A.G.M. and at Branch meetings, and some of the new material in the pipeline was in the form of humourous items which he thought members would find refreshing. He alsO commented that this made the task of proof reading more enjoyable. A number of contributors had preferred the use of a nom-de-plume to the use of their own names, and the editor wondered if there was a sinister inference to be drawn from this!

More items were still needed to swell the pages of "The Bulletin", particularly on the subjects of Explosives and Working Practice, and Mr. Crewe asked those present for suggestions of other items which members would find useful. He also asked Branch Secretary's to ensure that copies of Minutes were forwarded to him for publication. In closing, the Honorary Editor said that he confidently expected a return to a quarterly format in the coming year, and he thanked contributors, members and officers of the Association for their help and support during the past twelve months. Election of Chairman

Mr. George Bailey (Bedfordshire Consumer Protection Department) was nominated and elected Chairman for the ensuing year. The new· Chairman thanked the members for the honour of his election and looked forward to an interesting year. He said "My first contact with Petroleum legislation and its enforcement was in 1931 when I joined the Portsmouth Testing Department, and until 1938 I was actively engaged with the enforcement of Petroleum legislation with particular emphasiS on installations varying from one small tank to bulk storage installations designed for the rapid discharge of sea-going tankers.

Then as now, though today we have the Health and Safety Executive, enforcement lay squarely on the sholders of the Local Authorities through their Petroleum Officers by whatever name they were called. As I look back, I realise there has been but little change. We have Liaison Officers appointed by the Health and Safety Executive and maybe in the years to come they will be more effective than they seem today. There has always been good liaison between the Officers of both Central and Local Authorities but this does not make up for the lack of positive unequivocal legislation which would enable us to sustain a uniform standard of enforcement throughout the country. Such legislation should take the form of clear concise Regulations made under • he Health and Safety at Work etc., Act 21d be kept abreast of changing condi tions. I am conscious that re-organisation struct the Association a grevious blow but fortunately it was not mortal. There are indications that the Associat10n has picked itself up, dusted itself down and is now poised for a revi val. I trust this is so and that the Association will again go from strength to strength but this will depend on our own efforts. I therefore commend the Association to each and everyone of you and urge you all to do whatever you can to ensure that it is soon the force it once was. I in my turn will do whatever I can".

Vice Chairman This appointment was left for the Executive Committee to fill later.

Honorary Secretary Mr. J.W. Frid (County Safety Officer, Cambridgeshire County Council) was nominated and elected to this office for the ensuing year.

Honorary Treasurer Mr. C.T. Peacock (Yorkshire) was nominated and elected to this office for the ensuing year.

Honorary Editor Mr. J.S. Crewe (Petroleum Officer, Bedfordshire County Council) was nominated and elected to this office for the ensuing year. Honorary Liaison Officer There was no nomination. It was agreed that this office together with that of the Honorary Legal Adviser, should be left open. Honorary Auditor

Mr. A. Foster (Yorkshire) was nominated and elected to this office for the ensuing year.

Election of Council

The Honorary Secretary reported that he had received nominations for membership of the Council of the Association. The meeting agreed that the following should be elected: Mr. F. Knowles (Buckinghamshire County Council Fire Service), Mr. B.O. Lowe (Bedfordshire County Council), Mr. C.W. Brudenell (Humberside County Council), Mr. R.G. Kitching (Humberside County Council), Mr. D . Riley (West Glamorgan C.C.) and Mr. B.J. Thompson (G.L.C). Notice of Motion No. 1

Submitted by the Honorary Treasurer seconded by the Honorary secretary.'

"That, if, in the opinion of the Officers of the Association, it becomes necessary to increase membership subscriptions in 1979, an increase of £1.00 on all such subscriptions shall be implemented from January 1979".

The Honorary Treasurer in introducing motion spoke of the possible need to 1ntroduce a rise in the subscription rates in view of possible price and lowered membership. He that at the present time such an 1ncrease was not necessary. If the need did arise, and no provision was made for such eventuality, nothing could be done until the next Annual General Meeting, and even if the need for a rise was accepted, then it would have effect until January 1980. He felt that in the present uncertain financial climate the Association should accept the motion in order to protect itself from possible financial embarrassment.

After considerable discussion the motion was carried but was modified as follows. The work "Officers" in the first line of the motion was substituted by the work "Council" and the words "up to" were inserted between the wo-rd "of" and "£1.00" on the third line of the motion.

Any Other Business Under this item the subject of training courses was raised. Some members felt that the Association should again enter this sphere of activity in order to assist those who had a need for further training. Many members spoke on the subject and some drew attention to the fact that the Institute of Trading Standards Administration was currently involved in providing such courses. At the conclusion of the discussion it was felt that to duplicate such courses could only result in reduced support for each. It was suggested finally that the Hon. Secretary be instructed to make approaches to the I.T.S.A. with the view to possible participation by the

Association in their courses and to keep members informed as to any progress.

This was agreed by the meeting. The meeting adjourned for lunch at 12.40 p.m. In the afternoon the Chairman welcomed Dr. Cecil Johnson, H.M. Inspector of Expolsives from the Health and Safety Executive. Dr. Johnson spoke to members about the general subject of petroleum administration with particular reference to the appeals procedure. His talk was extremely interesting, and in the question period that followed Dr. Johnsor was able to expand his talk in reference to more specific problems that members put to him. At the conclusion of his session Dr. Johnson was thanked for giving up so much of his valuable time by attending the meeting, and members present showed their warm appreciation in the appropriate way. The Chairman closed business at 4.00 p.m.

Published byTHE ASSOCIATION FOR PETROLEUM AND EXPLOSIVES ADMINISTRATION by demand ....

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