FAME, along with CIfA and CBA have responded to The 2018-19 Local Government Finance Settlement: Technical Consultation Paper, which can be found here:
Author: Doug Rocks-Macqueen
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Call for evidence: EEA workers in the UK labour market
FAME has responded to a call for evidence from the Migrant Advisory Council, which can be found here:
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The CIS taxation regime -all you need to know
Since 2004 the Construction Industry Scheme has been in place to regulate tax payments between contractors and sub-contractors for construction work. Sub-contractors need to be registered with the scheme or face payments being retained in lieu of tax by main contractors. A recent case where a contractor refused to pay an archaeology company because they were not registered was brought to a successful conclusion by reference to the FAME Business Information Service (BIS).
The clear advice is that professional services (like archaeology) are excluded from the scheme. There is no requirement for archaeological companies to register with CIS and no grounds for retention of any fees. It should be enough to reference this exclusion in the Finance Act 2004, but if members continue to experience problems, seek help through our BIS.
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CIfA FAME CBA response to consultation on the Housing White Paper
FAME along with CBA and CIfA have responded to the Housing White Paper:
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The archaeological sector speaking with one voice
Recently FAME have begun to trial a relationship with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists that sees us respond jointly to some of the calls for consultation that come from Westminster and the devolved assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Where there are shared concerns, the Council for British Archaeology and the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers are also part of this arrangement. All four organisations recognise that while we each have a separate distinctive role to play there can be significant advantages in coming together on key issues to share resources and expertise, and combine our voices to present a united position to government. This builds on work to encourage cross sector sharing of information and that has been going on for a number of years in The Archaeology Forum which also includes organisations such as RESCUE, ICON and the Society of Antiquaries.
The most recent consultations FAME has been involved in include proposals for wide ranging planning reform in Scotland, and the Housing White paper. In both of these we have found common ground with our partners to push for strong and well-funded local authorities and object to proposals that might weaken heritage protection and sustainable development and so undermine the work of our members.
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FAME Forum 2017
Members and non-member are invited to the annual FAME Forum, to be held in York on Friday 23rd June. This years theme is Innovation and the focus will be on how new ways of working, new techniques and new technology are transforming how we investigate the past. Faced with the demands of clients for more effective working, policymakers for a more streamlined approach, and with the prospects of a significant capacity gap resulting from demand from major infrastructure projects, developing and investing in new techniques and technologies is more important than ever. How can we do things more quickly and economically, while enhancing quality? How do we find the resources to support research and development?
The day will bring together speakers and delegates from across the heritage sector, but also more widely from the construction and development industry to discuss how innovation can be supported, encouraged and embedded through the supply chain. We will hear from speakers whose role it is to make innovation work at the sector level, on large complex construction projects, but also where the focus is very much on archaeology. A range of speakers will also look at the latest process, technological and science-based developments in the heritage sector including on-site digital recording, BIM, remote sensing and use of VR.
The aim of the day is to update us all on current thinking around innovation and to generate ideas about what individual firms and the sector needs to do to drive innovation in archaeology.
There may still some slots available in the programme to showcase your innovative work and any members who would like to speak should get in touch asap.
The FAME AGM will also be held in York on the evening beforehand with the usual social afterwards. Details will soon be circulated to members.
Tickets for the FAME Forum can now be obtained from EVENTBRITE.
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Survey of Archaeological Specialists
Landward Research are undertaking a survey, collecting data on specialist skills, on behalf of the UK national agencies. FAME is working with Landward Research to support the project and to ensure that as many specialists as possible take part. The data gathered by the survey will be invaluable in helping FAME and it’s sector partners respond to the challenges faced by the sector over the coming years, specifically with regards to the availability of specialist skills. Please share widely with your specialist colleagues and encourage them to complete the survey. If you have any queries, you can contact Landward Research directly via the contact details in the notice below.
Survey of Archaeological Specialists: We need your help
The next few years are forecast to be a time of considerable change affecting our historic environment. Large-scale infrastructure projects like HS2, major road schemes, and a mammoth programme of housebuilding are forecast to very significantly increase the demand for a skilled historic environment workforce, at a time when some of the country’s most experienced archaeological specialists are approaching retirement. As a sector we need to try to get to grips with the impact of these two factors, and to invest focused resources into accommodating them.
The national heritage agencies have commissioned Landward Research to undertake a new survey of archaeological specialists, building on the work that was undertaken in 2010. We aim to find out more about the distribution of specialists, their working environments, their training needs and opportunities, and their thoughts on the future.
If you are an archaeological specialist or scientist, please invest just 10 minutes of your time to complete the questionnaire, and encourage others to do the same.
If you are an employer of archaeological specialists or scientists, please ask your staff to complete the questionnaire and spread the word about it.
The Archaeology Training Forum – the sector body with a focus on archaeological and related skills in the study of the historic environment – has identified the need for a skills and training audit as a key priority, and its members from across the sector will use the results of the survey to help plan for the delivery of high-quality expertise to make the most of the opportunities and to help mitigate the impacts of national infrastructure projects. The better the information we gather, the more effective we can be.
If you have any queries about the survey, please contact specialists@landward.eu
Survey Link: https://novisurvey.net/ns/n/specialists.aspx
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NPS Group Redundancies
FAME has written to the NPS group about potential redundancies of their archaeologists:
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FAME responds to parliamentary inquiry into Brexit impact on skills
Together with CIfA, FAME have responded to a consultation request from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment. The focus was future skills needs in the construction industry and the built environment professions and our focus was to draw attention to the shortage of skills in UK archaeology and the importance of continued access, in one form or another, to archaeologists from EU countries.
As part of our evidence we presented the results of our recent FAME survey (read the results here) which showed that over 85% of respondents had employed EU staff in the past and saw continued access to EU staff as important for the future.
The full consultation can be read here.
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FAME members win prestigious engineering awards
FAME members, Museum of London Archaeology Service, Oxford Archaeology and Pre-Construct Archaeology are part of the Thameslink Borough Viaduct team that have won one of this years prestigious CEEQUAL Outstanding Achievement Awards for environmental and social performance in civil engineering, infrastructure, landscaping, and public realm projects.The CEEQUAL Awards returned for a special evening at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London on Monday 28 November. Twenty-two projects were shortlisted for awards in up to 16 categories and an expert panel of independent judges made awards in 12 categories. With a record number of nominations received from a diverse range of projects, awards were presented for exemplary achievements in categories including ‘Historic Environment’.
Read more about the project here.