The possibility of ‘unintended but serious consequences’ from Historic Scotland merger have been highlighted by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) as it calls upon its 312,000 members to help it respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on merging public agencies, Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, into single ‘super-body’ with possible charitable status.
The NTS writes:
The Trust has raised concerns over a number of issues arising from the proposed merger that may disadvantage other voluntary and private organisations caring for Scotland’s heritage leading to unintended but serious consequences.
The Trust’s concerns centre on:
• Regulatory conflicts – the new body aspires to be ‘Scotland’s leading heritage tourism provider’ – while also continuing to regulate how other operators manage their properties
• Grant-making – the new body may take over responsibility for Scottish Government grants to the sector, at the same time seeking to better access grant support itself
• Charitable fundraising – the new public body is likely to seek charitable donations to sustain its activities, in competition with the voluntary sector which is wholly dependent on membership support and charitable giving
The Trust’s Head of Policy, Diarmid Hearns said: ‘While we welcome the broad thrust of the Scottish Government’s proposals, we are calling on them to make sure there is a level playing field, with no unfair advantages given to the new organisation as it competes with us and others for income.’
‘We have concerns that a number of issues are not addressed in detail within the consultation paper and we would like to encourage the Scottish Government to consider these before finalising its plans.’
‘For example, will there be guarantees that the new body will not use its state funding to cross-subsidise its marketing and pricing to compete with voluntary and private providers?’
‘Historic Scotland, as a branch of the civil service, currently enjoys a different tax treatment from competitors in the voluntary and private sectors. Can we assume that the new body with its charitable status will be treated in the same way as its competitors in this respect?’
Members are being asked to share their thoughts on the issues raised in the paper before the Trust completes its formal response to the Scottish Government consultation, which is due to end on 31 July.
The Scotsman writes:
‘HERITAGE charities have raised fears a new heritage ‘super-body’ could threaten their survival, with the National Trust for Scotland urging thousands of its members to object to the controversial plan.
The Scottish Government wants to merge Historic Scotland with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland to create one giant organisation responsible for safeguarding the nation’s heritage. But NTS has called on its 312,000 members to oppose proposals to give the new body charitable status, because it believes that granting a government agency the chance to seek public donations risks creating damaging competition for much-needed funding.’
The Trust’s members are being directed to a special Briefing Paper on the proposed merger located at: LINK
The main consultation documents are to be found at: LINK
Scotsman Article: LINK
NTS News: LINK
