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Bill to transform management and protection of historic places

The Scottish Parliament has paved the way for a new body to be set up to oversee the management and protection of Scotland’s heritage.

During the final parliamentary stage at Holyrood yesterday, the Historic Environment Scotland Bill was backed unanimously by MSPs, giving the green light for the new organisation to be created, subject to Royal Assent.

Historic Environment Scotland, the new body, will play a key role delivering Scotland’s first strategy for the historic environment, ‘Our Place in Time’ and ensure that heritage is protected and promoted while providing real and increasing benefits to Scotland’s people. In doing so it will deliver the functions of Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS).

The Bill will further simplify the public sector landscape by reducing the number of Scottish public bodies.

The process is well underway to appoint a board for the new non-departmental public body, which will be fully operational by October 2015.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop said:

“The historic environment lies at the heart of our cultural identity. It plays a key role in defining who we are, and our place in the world. It tells Scotland’s story. It has intrinsic and instrumental value, over and above any economic considerations. It merits our most careful stewardship for those reasons alone.

“As well as being central to telling the story of our nation, the historic environment already supports more than 40,000 jobs, contributes well over £2 billion a year to Scotland’s economy, and contributes to the wellbeing of our communities. There is no reason why it cannot offer more.

“Historic Environment Scotland will take forward the government’s contribution to delivering Scotland’s first national strategy to ensure our diverse historic environment is understood, valued, cared for, protected, enjoyed and enhanced - now and for future generations.

“The complementary nature of Historic Scotland and RCAHMS has long been recognised. They both work well and that is clear in the praise I hear for the great work that both do. Bringing them together to create a strong and efficient single lead body is the next logical step to sustain and enhance this.

“The new approach will bring resources, skills and experience together, and it will simplify procedures. That will help to create the conditions in which our historic environment can flourish.”

Notes To Editors

Our Place in Time – A Historic Environment Strategy for Scotland, can be found here:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/03/8522

Further information on the Historic Environment Strategy and Bill, and the background to these, can be found here: www.scotland.gov.uk/historicenvironment

Historic Environment Scotland is expected to be launched in 2015. It will be established in two stages, with the Board established in April 2015 and the transfer of full operational powers to the new body in October 2015.