An Engine for Change - A Chronicle of the Engineering Council

1991-1995: THE FAIRCLOUGH YEARS 83concept of a single overarching body had been significantly modified. Instead the Reportproposed a two-tier structure comprising:1. A central body which Council members would have the majority of members electedby individual engineers.2. A grouping of Institutions into colleges which would be the principal source of adviceto the Council [our italics.] [As will be seen later, this provision was scuppered orignored.] There was wide support for such a structure to enable the profession tospeak and act collectively whilst permitting each Institution to develop its ownspecialist interests within a framework of mutual cooperation. Sir John himself hadstrongly backed moves for a single-body solution, and when the Interim Report wasformally presented at the 9 th Engineering Assembly, held 19/20 July 1993 at theUniversity of Nottingham, the Assembly theme was publicised as ‘Unification of theEngineering Profession’, just as though all was going to plan.In the event, the 1993 Assembly agreed on the need to proceed to a second stage of activities.A Stage II Policy Group was set up under the Chairmanship of Sir John, comprising seniorrepresentatives of a number of Institutions and five members of the EngC Council. ThisGroup, which held its first meeting on 27 September 1993, was charged with establishing aproposal for a “New Relationship” to be considered in the Autumn of 1994 with the intentionof electing a reformed Engineering Council in June 1995. A progress report was presented inJuly 1994 at the 10 th Engineering Assembly held at Churchill College, Cambridge. It wasannounced that the reformed EngC would have an elected Senate (replacing the appointedun-elected Council) and two Boards – one for the Profession and one for Regulation. Weoutline in the next section the finally agreed membership and responsibilities of these Boards.The second stage report of Sir John Fairclough’s Initiative, a Unification ConsultativeDocument, was published on time in October 1994.Institution Working Groups and committees (some reporting to the Board for the EngineeringProfession, others to the Board for Engineers’ Regulation) were set up in 1995 by the PolicyGroup of the Unification initiative to address:1. A revised Charter and Bye-laws with schedules to accommodate the next points 2,3, and 4.2. An election process for the new Senate.3. Working arrangements for the new Board for the Engineering Profession.4. Working arrangements for the new Board for Engineers’ Regulation, includingsubsuming the existing Board for Engineers’ Registration.On 21 February 1995 the EngC and all but one of the 40 Institutions signed a Declaration ofIntent to support the establishment of a new body to “unify” the Engineering profession. TheEngC agreed to seek Privy Council approval for changes to its Royal Charter to enable newarrangements to be put into place. The vesting day for the new body was chosen as 1 January1996. Although it fell short of his original vision Sir John claimed “This excellent outcomeexceeded my expectations and will radically alter the relationships between the EngC, theInstitutions and the Registrants. For the first time the EngC will comprise engineers alldemocratically nominated and elected by the Institutions and Registrants”. Whilst this wastrue, the actual effect was to give the Institutions much greater leverage on the EngC thanthey had hitherto enjoyed, as can be seen from the make-up of the Senate given below.© Engineering Council UK 2004