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responses: Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill |
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Submission from ALGAO:Scotland Barry Matthews
John A Lawson 26/3/07 Dear Sir, This response is offered on behalf of the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers:Scotland which has been formed after the amalgamation in 2006 of the Association of Regional and Island Archaeologists (ARIA) with the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) to form ALGAO:UK and three national bodies. ALGAO:Scotland welcomes the proposals for 'cultural entitlements' in the draft Culture (Scotland) Bill, provided they are defined to include access to and information on the local historic environment held in the HERs/SMRs that our members curate. A welcome extension of this entitlement would be to require all local authorities to exercise a duty of care for the Historic Environment, as recommended in the July 2006 HEACS report to the Minister of Tourism, Culture & Sport 'Report and Recommendations on the role of local authorities on conserving the historic environment'. It should also be noted that the recent white paper on heritage protection (March 2007) issued by DCMS has a provision for HERs/SMRs to be made statutory. Enaction of this measure in Scotland as part of the Culture Bill would go a long way to cementing such a cultural entitlement as access to the historic environment. ALGAO:Scotland has no objection to the dissolution of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and the transfer of its staff and responsibilities to the National Record of Scotland, provided that this does not lead to any diminution in the resources previously available for the work of that body. With regard to the questions posed at the end of section 4, ALGAO:Scotland, however, objects to the proposal to permit the Faculty of Advocates to have at least one representative on the Board of the National Library on the basis that there is no parallel proposal to recognise the no-less important role of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in the establishment of the National Museums of Scotland. The Society's entire collection was transferred to the state in 1851 to form the core of what is now the National Museum, to whose library the Society continues to contribute through extensive exchanges of its journal, the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. In equity, some equivalent representation on the board of the Museum is surely due to the Society. On the other questions in the document (Annexe B), we offer the following responses: 1. We do believe that developing local cultural entitlements, particularly those centred around the local historic environment, will help to increase participation in cultural activities. 2. We urge the adoption of positive measures to consolidate the contribution made by local authorities to cultural activities through requiring by statute such bodies to maintain HERs/SMRs and to have a duty of care for the historic environment. 3. Cultural Identity should be used to develop and enhance both national and local identities and to foster a pride of place which will feed into planning, economic development, tourism and leisure activities education and life long learning 4. The draft guidance is clear and helpful, as far as it goes. It should embrace more positively the Historic Environment. 5-7. re Creative Scotland. Agreed 8. We agree that the National Collections should remain as constitutionally separate centres of excellence and that 9. the powers and functions proposed for the Collections are about right. 10. We have no objection to the name 'National Record of Scotland' 11. We object to the Faculty of Advocates being singled out for special treatment. 12. We agree that the Collections have appropriate powers and that it should be an offence 13. to deal in tainted cultural objects. 14-15. Local authorities should be given specific power to broadcast information. Yours faithfully John A Lawson Chair ALGAO:Scotland
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