Scotland’s Finance Minister John Swinney has announced his ‘Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13’ as, over the next three years Historic Scotland’s budget will be cut by 30% in real terms
On Culture the report states:
‘The Culture and External Affairs portfolio will spend £232.4 million in 2012-13 on portfolio priorities, including maintaining cultural and heritage assets and widening access to these, and the promotion of Scotland on the world stage. This is £13.2 million or 5.4 per cent less than in 2011-12.
On Historic Scotland the report states:
‘Historic Scotland, with £45.3 million in Scottish Government funding, will deliver key projects such as the Bannockburn Battlefield and Visitor Centre project. It will continue to protect and enhance the historic environment and will invest in the representation of Edinburgh Castle and the Honours of Scotland. It will also focus on increasing its contribution to Scottish tourism through the generation of increased visitor numbers and commercial income; support and develop Scotland’s traditional building skills; promote understanding and appreciation of the rich heritage through designation and outreach; drive forward the development and application of new digital technologies; and lead on the contribution of Scotland’s traditional buildings to meeting climate change targets. Historic Scotland will deliver budget reductions by growing income from existing sources and exploiting new areas of income generation; introducing effective workforce planning to ensure the Agency’s structure supports its priorities and protects front-line services; and by actively pursuing efficiencies through shared service or partnership projects with VisitScotland, the National Records of Scotland and other sector partners.’
In the report, Historic Scotland states:
‘Historic Scotland, as Scotland’s largest employer of stonemasons also protects and supports traditional skills through its employment of skilled crafts people and its work with colleges, Sector Skills Councils and others. This support is underlined by its commitment to employ 30 additional apprentices over the next three years. Through the provision of technical and scientific advice Historic Scotland is leading on improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s 460,000 traditional buildings and making a significant contribution to the government’s carbon reduction targets. In its regulatory role it is continuing to improve and simplify the planning system, and working in partnership with Glasgow School of Art, it is enhancing Scotland’s reputation for innovation and excellence at home and internationally through the 3D laser scanning of five international sites as well as the five World Heritage Sites in Scotland – the Scottish Ten project.’
‘In 2012-13 we will:
· progress key projects such as the Battle of Bannockburn Project (£5 million) which has been successful in securing first-stage approval for Heritage Lottery Fund support (£3.8 million), and deliver the manifesto commitment on the Scottish Ten (£1.5 million);
· progress work on establishing the National Conservation Centre;
· invest in local regeneration across Scotland through our grants schemes, refresh our properties to improve our visitor offering, conserve and maintain our properties, provide guidance on energy efficiency and on maintaining traditional buildings drawing on our research and the experience of managing our estate;
· explore all possible means of increasing income from alternative sources including our tourism and commercial activities, sponsorship, and donations, and using our estate creatively;
· look at the scope to share services and simplify the landscape across the heritage management and tourism landscape;
· ensure that we get maximum value from all our running costs expenditure through an ongoing efficiency programme, and from our IT, digital, people and training strategies, with a view to releasing resources to front-line delivery; and
· evidence the wider economic contribution of the historic environment to Scotland’s growth and economy.
Built Environment Forum Scotland (BEFS), Scotland’s link body, responded to the news as follows:
[The] budget announcement by Finance Secretary John Swinney outlined the Scottish Government’s economic and expenditure plans for the next year. The draft budget detailed the reduction in the grant to the Culture portfolio from £154.6 million this year to £143.2 million in 2014-15. Within this reduction Historic Scotland will see a cut from its current budget of £47.0 million to £35.7 million in 2014-15 a fall of some £11.3 million. In the coming year alone Historic Scotland will face a cut of £1.7 million in its grant. However, Historic Scotland is confident that it can offset budget cuts over the coming 3 years by a combination of increasing income and efficiency measures.
BEFS Director Craig Stirrat said: ‘The value of the built and historic environment to the Scottish economy is well known. As detailed in yesterday’s budget document the historic environment supports 60,000 jobs and contributes more than £2.3 billion to the Scottish economy so while this cut is not unexpected, the amount by which Historic Scotland’s grant has been reduced is somewhat disappointing.’
‘We recognise that every area of government must make economies and savings but feel that Historic Scotland has taken a disproportionate hit in the budget and will, therefore, face a huge challenge to generate additional income to balance their books. Nevertheless, BEFS’ members will continue to work closely with our colleagues in Historic Scotland as they work to offset this budgetary loss and secure a brighter future.’
For the announcement on the spending review see: LINK
For the announcement on the Culture spending review see: LINK
For the budget see: LINK
