27th June 2013, 10:20 AM
Doug Wrote:The release is pretty bad so it is hard to tell what the plan is. It does look like they are splitting EH but it is not clear if the NT clone has to be self funded only or if it and the National Heritage Protection Service have to both be self funded. Maybe they will keep paying for the NHPS?
If anyone from EH knows?
It's looking a bit similar to the proposed merger of RCAHMS and Historic Scotland. The current plans seem to result in the policy/statutory/regulatory part of HS being stripped out into a quango or something similar, and the property side being operated as an arms length charity. This model is being opposed by the National Trust for Scotland as a) it's effectively a clone & direct competition and b) because at the moment HS enjoys special tax arrangements and it's not clear if these are going to be passed on to the new body.
"While welcoming the broad thrust of the proposal, the Trust has genuine concerns that, if there is not a level playing field in terms of regulation, taxation and promotion, the new body might unintentionally but irretrievably damage the voluntary and private providers that do so much to care for Scotlandâs heritage."
From http://www.nts.org.uk/about/downloads/br...merger.pdf
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[TD]The new organisation aspires to become "Scotlandâs leading heritage tourism provider." As with the aspiration to become self-supporting through charitable donations, there is concern that a new super-body that is both the regulatory authority and a private competitor could use its powers to create an uneven playing field.
The potential conflicts of interest include:
- [SIZE=3]Consents [/SIZE]- Favourable treatment of the new bodyâs own applications for scheduled monument/listed building consents (should this responsibility be placed with the new body);
- [SIZE=3]Cross-subsidy [/SIZE]- Use of tax-payer funding to compete commercially with the wider sector (a possible State Aid infringement);
- [SIZE=3]Undue influence [/SIZE]- Use of connections with other arms of government (e.g. tourism marketing, skills development, planning authorities) to undertake commercial initiatives not open to private or voluntary sector competitors.
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