Council consideration of the proposal to merge BAS and NOC
NERC Council is concerned that uncertainty around the future of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is having a damaging effect on staff morale in the two centres and is giving rise to speculative, and in some cases inaccurate, coverage of this issue in the national, local and specialist press.
Council has therefore suggested that since the formal consultation on the proposal to merge the two centres has concluded, it would prefer to make an early decision. A meeting of Council will therefore take place on 1 November 2012, with a view to considering the results of the consultation and the work of the project team and arriving at a view which will reduce the uncertainty.
A summary of the consultation inputs will be presented to Council at this meeting. In view of the interest generated by the proposal, the NERC Chief Executive has asked for this summary to be subject to independent scrutiny. Professor Robert Allison, the Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University, has agreed to carry out such a scrutiny.
Council's decision will be communicated as soon as possible after the meeting.