Transparency data

Minutes: 30 June 2025

Published 5 June 2026

Forestry Commission executive board 131st meeting minutes, Monday 30 June 2025, 10:00–13:00 in person at Bristol and via MS Teams.

1. Welcome, updates and introductions

The Chair opened the meeting. Derrick Osgood sent his apologies.

2. Minutes of the executive board, 10 March 2025 and matters arising

The minutes for the meeting of the Forestry Commission executive board of last meeting were agreed as a true and accurate record. There were no actions outstanding from previous meetings.

The harmonisation with the civil service terms and conditions proposal will be taken to the meeting on 14 July 2025 as part of the pay negotiations. The Forestry Commission needs to ensure it is operating efficiently and aligned to the rest of the Civil Service in terms of pay and reward.

3. Health and safety update

One Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations incident has been reported since March which was a work-related ill health of Lyme disease in Forest Services. The Tick and Lyme working group have amended the guidance within the policy, procedure and guidance documents to make tick-repellent personal protective equipment mandatory for relevant staff. They are also reviewing how widely the sero-monitoring programme needs to be offered in the future.

No incidents have been reported for volunteers or contractors since March. The board challenged the zero reports. There is confidence in the reporting figures for volunteers, but more can be done to ensure contractors report all incidents, such as defining this in the contract.

The board also noted a number of safeguarding incidents in the last two months. 4 of these provide learning points about code of conduct for staff and volunteers to provide clarity when building working relationships. There was a rucksack found in a forest with personal information about vulnerable children. Police found a car belonging to a missing vulnerable person and required assistance to gain access to the site for a search and rescue.

The team is also developing the next 5-year strategy with top three programmes impacting and benefiting staff across the Forestry Commission. Reporting software system procurement commenced a year in advance to ensure there is enough time for consultation with staff, user testing and configuration of the system. Action plan for the Look Out and Look After programme will have outcomes which benefit all. Also working with national teams to promote implementation of programmes for buildings management and resumption compliance to continue to provide assurance to senior teams.

Forest Research also have ongoing programmes to address risks for cuts in laboratories and offices and for driving for work.

4. Corporate plan

The board received an update on delivery against the corporate plan for Q4, Q1 of 2025-26 is not yet complete. The board requested that in the future they get a review of the previous quarter and a forward look as an opportunity to unblock challenges before they become an issue. The review should provide an opportunity to scrutinise any content in preparation for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) quarterly performance report and ministerial delivery meetings both of which should ideally be considered in advance by this board and the board of Commissioners. There is ambition to progress towards an automated report via PowerBI for September.

Of 68 key activities, 76% have been delivered or are materially complete. Of the 23% delayed these were largely due to dependencies (12%), spending review impacts (3%) or other reasons.

A review is currently underway to align Chair letters with Secretary of State outcomes. Defra expectation is for this alignment to be completed for September, but the phasing does not work as spending review (phase 2) and the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) will not be published in time. Work will therefore proceed based on assumptions, which are in the process of being developed, so that we are ready to submit to Defra in autumn.

The board agreed for all three strategic opportunities to be taken for a decision on appropriate next steps from the board of commissioners. James Pendlebury will provide a paper for the Woodland Water Code update.

There was nothing of note to report on enabling activities, except the challenges on delivery.

The board noted that it may not always be possible for executive board meetings to align with commissioners and ministerial meetings. However, the board can endorse updates via correspondence where routine schedule of meetings does not permit this route.

Actions

1. Head of Performance to provide assumptions from the spending review, EIP and optimising delivery review to inform implications for the performance annex.
2. James Pendlebury to provide paper for Woodland Water Code update ahead of the board of commissioners.
3. Julia Lovell to work with governance teams to try to sequence meetings to ensure the executive board is before the board of commissioners which is before quarterly performance reports and ministerial delivery meetings. Noting this is not currently possible with only 3 board of commissioners per annum.

5. Spending review and business planning

The fiscal environment is currently constrained. Defra has an opportunity to evidence how it is delivering this government’s biggest priorities on growth, health, national security, education, affordable housing and efficiency reform, though current funding does not reflect that. Defra is working on articulating better how it aligns with these priorities in its contributions to national resilience, ecosystem stability and public wellbeing. Some of this means looking for stronger evidence, particularly around health impacts, to support funding arguments.

Spending review outcome is effectively flat cash, with real-terms reduction due to inflation. Capital departmental expenditure limit (CDEL) is tight but manageable, and resource departmental expenditure limit facing an overall reduction of 8% due to efficiencies on top of inflation. Currently efficiencies are undefined though conversations continue with Defra and arms length bodies and the Forestry Commission sees the need for investment in technology to unlock many of these efficiencies.

Business planning is expected to begin in the autumn. Land management has had £2.7 billion committed. A £300 million fund was mentioned in an annex intended to support a government purchase of woodland carbon units enabling a transition from grants to green finance. Reference to the fund has since been removed. The Forestry Commission is unlikely to have details on timing or implementation to enable it to make changes it needs in time.

HOLT 2 project may be eligible for capital treatment under a separate business case, following discussions with the Chief Scientist Office. Opportunities exist to reframe research and development funding and explore efficiencies in areas such as LiDAR and drone technology. The board briefly discussed the importance of articulating importance of capital spending for compliance as Defra are accountable for funding decisions that impact public perception and safety, including in cases such as Cannop Ponds.

The board acknowledged the need to make internal efficiencies beyond aligning terms and conditions with the rest of civil service. This will include rethinking the operating structure and how corporate services are run. Any structural changes will need to be strategic based on clear financial assumptions.

The board also noted the need for clarity in long term planning before considering adjustments to workforce numbers. The organisation must avoid giving false hope but focus on continuous improvement and operational resilience. Securing the Future programme in Forestry England provides a useful platform for ongoing efficiency gains, which means for equipment as well not just structure. The board acknowledged that without clarity in direction and magnitude of funding to the Forestry Commission, it will be a challenge to get the process and messaging right.

6. Travel policy

The board received an interim update on progress towards implementing the actions set out in the ‘towards sustainable travel emissions in the Forestry Commission’ document, which was endorsed by the board in autumn 2024. The interim update focused on the current draft status of the new expenses and sustainable travel policies which will come to the executive board for approval in September.

The interim update highlighted that the proposed new policies will remove the current grey fleet tapering emissions threshold and replace this with a new policy that focusses on reducing the emissions of high mileage grey fleet drivers by transitioning these drivers into zero emissions vehicles. For the majority of staff this change is a relaxation of the current tapering of emissions policies impacting on personal vehicles.

The objective is to move high mileage grey fleet drivers towards Zero Emissions Vehicles for those impacted by the proposed policy change, either through Forestry Commission fleet pool, allocated vehicles or Car Provision for Employees Scheme (CAPES). Revision of the current CAPES policy is integral to the launch of the new travel and expenses policies and will also come back to the executive board for a discussion in the autumn.

The board highlighted the potential challenges of making changes to the grey fleet policy, when our short-term car hire contract sometimes results in the provision of vehicles with higher emissions than those ordered. It was recommended that communications around the new policies needs to acknowledge these challenges.

*Post meeting note – the new Enterprise car hire contract includes incentivisation for the supplier to provide vehicles of the category ordered, which is a positive step.

The executive board also highlighted the need to ensure that any tax implications of changes to the expenses policy are highlighted when this is submitted to the executive board for approval in the autumn.

Actions

1. Director of Engineering to include tax advice in next travel policy paper in September.
2. Travel policy update to clarify claiming of expenses for electric vehicles.
3. Paper on options for revision of the CAPES scheme to be presented in the autumn.

7. Forestry Commission strategic risk register

The board received an update on the Forestry Commission strategic risk register. Actions related to the increased cyber security threats are being taken by the Security Risk Management Forum (SRMF). The risk level has increased due to current and external factors and are being monitored accordingly.

The board approved the proposed changes on the risk register. The board asked that the spending review is escalated from risk to issue, with significant implications for staffing and tree planting in phase 2. The board also wanted an update to wording in FCO05 from ‘reliance on annual subsidy limit’ to ‘reliance on future recurrent government funding’.

The board discussed the risk around fixed-term appointments (FTA). Anna Brown highlighted the need for reassurance from delivery partner on workstreams such as Future Farming and Nature for Climate Fund regarding staff on FTA contracts as this will also impact Forestry Commission’s ability to deliver these programmes. There are concerns about short-term CDEL funding and potential need to extend contracts if spending review decisions are delayed. The Workers’ Rights Bill currently going through Parliament may affect these decisions. For this reason the board asked FTA posts to be reviewed in relation to both government and externally funded posts.

Actions

1. Derrick Osgood to coordinate Mike Seddon, James Pendlebury and Anna Brown reviewing Forestry Commission position in relation to government and externally funded FTA posts.

8. Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) action tracker

The board received an update on the GIAA action tracker.

Four high-priority actions remain open. It was noted that one is due to recruitment and retention challenges contributing to the delay. Otherwise there were 5 actions overdue for closure all within Forest Services, with one relating to the grants audit. These were confirmed as having new deadlines in the meeting. All other actions are within their due dates. Any actions that have exceeded their original extension dates have new agreed deadlines.

9. Executive board – purpose, structure and future

The executive board’s current role is to provide pan-Forestry Commission oversight, align strategy and delivery, and support reporting to the Board of Commissioners and Defra. There is a need to clarify whether the executive board is primarily a decision-making body, a strategic oversight group or both. The board should enable delivery, not duplicate or obstruct operational responsibilities.

An external effectiveness review is due by 2025, covering all boards. The review is intended to assess governance, assurance, stakeholder engagement and reporting across the Forestry Commission. Timing of the review is under consideration – whether to conduct it now or wait for the new Chair and incoming commissioners. The board saw opportunities in undertaking the review ahead of member change, so their insights could be captured.

The board discussed membership and whether all attendees would be members. There was an ask to keep the voting membership low but to include technical representation and strategic leadership.

The board discussed whether some of the sub-boards identified are forums or groups that need delegation. It was agreed that there is need for further clarity on which delegated sub-boards need to report to the executive board, with a proposal to formalise sponsorship and accountability of each sub-board. There was a suggestion to establish a dedicated IT sub-board.

There was also a discussion around the need for a balance between strategic long-term decisions and operational oversight such as corporate plan delivery. This will help shape what comes to the board for decisions and how these are shaped, as there is currently a lack of clarity in recommendations to the board in items presented. The emphasis is on improving communication of pan-Forestry Commission issues.

Proposals:

• clarify of the roles of members on the executive board
• clarify sub-boards and map executive sponsor for each
• clarify what the board needs and wants to be fed and how this is presented
• standardise standing agenda items
• exploration of establishing a dedicated IT sub-board
• clarify cadence of executive board meetings in relation to board of commissioners and ministerial performance meetings
• improve how feedback and clarifications are tracked and returned to the executive board

Following this discussion the executive board agreed to meet for a facilitated discussion on this topic, building on the presentation.

Actions

1. Julia Lovell to find an appropriate location and time for a facilitated session for the executive board to consider the proposals.
2. Derrick Osgood to produce papers for this session and review the need for an independent to facilitate.

10. Valuing our information programme update

The board received an update on the Valuing Our Information programme across the Forestry Commission.

Forest Research had not been sighted of this update. The board asked for a review of how this programme feeds into the executive board in the future (as part of the review of sub-boards) and to ensure all parts of the Forestry Commission are sighted ahead of the meeting.

11. Any other business

SRMF

The board commented that Forestry Commission A1.a action sits with the SRMF not executive board level.

Ideas from the Forest Floor

The board received an update on Commission Really Good Ideas. The first submission to be taken forward was to rename the project to Ideas from the Forest Floor.

A process for the project had been proposed and was endorsed by the board.

The board were also presented with some of the ideas put forward. Many of the suggestions were for things already in place at the Forestry Commission. Feedback will be provided to signpost staff to projects that are already in progress. Four other suggestions, will also be posted to seek views of other staff on how to take the proposal forward.

12. HR/OD review

This item was not minuted however an action and a decision were noted.

Decision was taken to bring in interim cover for the policy role.

The board agreed to make a decision on the revised proposal following completion of actions via correspondence.

Actions

1. Amanda Grist to give consideration to and update the proposal accordingly:

• re-map proposal to show interactions more clearly including Defra links, people board and executive board interaction
• describe function of each role and how achieve pan-Forestry Commission policy decisions
• include draft terms of reference for the people board