Got an interesting responses from EH on the subject-
"I know that you are concerned Doug and I’d like to try to convince you that this really is good news for English Heritage and that there is no need to panic! It was actually our idea to ask the Government for a one-off lump sum and permission to form a charity to run the historic properties side of EH so we are in fact really pleased that they have agreed. Our press release obviously didn’t explain things well enough. At the moment, we have to use about £22 million of our annual grant-in-aid to support the National Heritage Collection but we are increasing the income we earn ourselves all the time and with the new freedom being a charity will bring it is absolutely possible that this part of English Heritage can become self-financing eventually. We don’t have to achieve this by 2015, that is when we start the charity and begin the process towards financial independence so not a scary timetable at all – and there is no plan to cut off state funding from the properties unless and until they achieve financial self-sufficiency. Worth saying that all existing EH staff who work on the properties will be transferred across to the new charity under their current terms and conditions.
It is also good news for the other part of EH that provides heritage protection for England’s wider heritage. This will absolutely continue to receive state funding! Although, like other Government-funded bodies, we are suffering cuts, it’s great that in future less and less will have to be spent on the properties and we can focus it more on all the other things we do such as listing, advising on planning applications, giving grants, running the Heritage at Risk Register and research into areas of heritage which are not yet properly understood.
Both parts of English Heritage will continue to report to the EH Commission which reports directly to the Dept for Culture, Media and Sport so no one is being cut loose to float off into the blue! The difference is that instead of worrying about how to tackle repairs to the National Heritage Collection, it now has a much more secure future. And we will be able to use our continuing annual Government grant to enhance the service we provide to owners, developers and the public so that England’s heritage across the country is understood, valued, cared for and enjoyed."
They are trying to make it sound good, I guess time will tell if new EH can stand on its feet and if funding will be slowly removed as they increase income.
"I know that you are concerned Doug and I’d like to try to convince you that this really is good news for English Heritage and that there is no need to panic! It was actually our idea to ask the Government for a one-off lump sum and permission to form a charity to run the historic properties side of EH so we are in fact really pleased that they have agreed. Our press release obviously didn’t explain things well enough. At the moment, we have to use about £22 million of our annual grant-in-aid to support the National Heritage Collection but we are increasing the income we earn ourselves all the time and with the new freedom being a charity will bring it is absolutely possible that this part of English Heritage can become self-financing eventually. We don’t have to achieve this by 2015, that is when we start the charity and begin the process towards financial independence so not a scary timetable at all – and there is no plan to cut off state funding from the properties unless and until they achieve financial self-sufficiency. Worth saying that all existing EH staff who work on the properties will be transferred across to the new charity under their current terms and conditions.
It is also good news for the other part of EH that provides heritage protection for England’s wider heritage. This will absolutely continue to receive state funding! Although, like other Government-funded bodies, we are suffering cuts, it’s great that in future less and less will have to be spent on the properties and we can focus it more on all the other things we do such as listing, advising on planning applications, giving grants, running the Heritage at Risk Register and research into areas of heritage which are not yet properly understood.
Both parts of English Heritage will continue to report to the EH Commission which reports directly to the Dept for Culture, Media and Sport so no one is being cut loose to float off into the blue! The difference is that instead of worrying about how to tackle repairs to the National Heritage Collection, it now has a much more secure future. And we will be able to use our continuing annual Government grant to enhance the service we provide to owners, developers and the public so that England’s heritage across the country is understood, valued, cared for and enjoyed."
They are trying to make it sound good, I guess time will tell if new EH can stand on its feet and if funding will be slowly removed as they increase income.