City and Guilds 0039-36 Emergency Treework Planning: what the handbook says

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The pages used are the City and Guilds NPTC handbook for the award, the 2026 City and Guilds list and the NPTC factsheet. This award is about planning an emergency callout, not about cutting. The guide on storm work covers the wider storm-response picture.

At a glance

Item	What the official source says
Awarding body	City and Guilds, under the NPTC name
Title	Level 3 Certificate of Competence in Emergency Treework Planning
City and Guilds number	0039-36
Ofqual number	603/7649/1
Guided learning hours	8, with a total qualification time of 10 (handbook version 1.5, December 2025)
Age	16 or over
Grading	Pass only
Status in the 2026 list	Open to certification, registration expiry December 31, 2027, certification expiry December 31, 2030

What the handbook says it covers

The handbook says the award is for people who carry out emergency treework planning as part of work in arboriculture, forestry or other industries. Its content list is hazards, risks, controls, emergency procedures, legislation and industry good practice.

The unit text, number 307, has two parts. The first is the risk assessment process and the emergency details a plan holds for a site: the location and grid reference, a designated meeting place, the nearest access point, the type of access, a suitable helicopter landing area, the nearest doctor and the nearest accident and emergency hospital, and the contacts for the works manager and the operator. The second is the callout side. It lists why equipment is prepared ahead of emergency callouts, the advance warnings such as weather reports, the environmental damage to watch for, and the records kept: a call out sheet, a risk assessment and a completed job sheet. It sets out three priority levels, low with no immediate danger, medium to attend as soon as available, and high needing immediate action. It also covers mobilising the workforce, for example a standby rota, and the factors that make a callout harder, such as weather and traffic.

Entry requirements

The handbook states only the minimum age of 16. It lists no other award as an entry requirement, which sets it apart from the cutting awards in the same series.

Assessment

The handbook describes one assessment type: a one to one practical assessment with oral questioning by an approved City and Guilds NPTC assessor. Grading is pass only. The handbook says the practical observation and oral questioning should take between 30 minutes and 1 hour. Candidates have to finish within 24 months of the date of initial registration, and the handbook says registration is valid for two years. The assessor has to hold a current First Aid at Work certificate, according to the unit text.

Refresher and renewal

The Health and Safety Executive leaflet Chainsaws at work (INDG317) and the FISA guide 805 set refresher intervals for chainsaw operators, every two to three years for occasional users and every five years for full-time users in INDG317, and at least every five years in the FISA guide. Neither speaks of planning awards by name. The list of chainsaw CPD modules in the City and Guilds 0041-01 handbook has no module for emergency treework planning. The handbook for this award gives no expiry period for the certificate. Its two-year figure is the length of a registration to take the assessment.

Old codes

The City and Guilds NPTC factsheet lists two older emergency awards. One is Preparing and Agreeing Emergency Treework Operations, 0021-04 and 0021-12, Ofqual number 600/6123/6, 33 guided learning hours, marked "New Qualification". The other is Emergency Treework Operations, 0021-05, Ofqual number 600/6437/7, 33 guided learning hours, which carries CS50. The 2026 list has no row for any of those numbers. No page read states that 0039-36 replaces either. See old NPTC chainsaw codes and the awards that replaced them.

The Lantra Awards award

Lantra Awards has a Level 3 Award in Emergency Treework Operations, Ofqual number 600/5702/6. Its specification describes assisted felling and windblown tree elements, gives 21 guided learning hours and a total qualification time of 33, and names the Level 2 felling award as the prerequisite.

Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.