Examination of Witnesses (Questions 200
- 202)
THURSDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2004
MR NICHOLAS
RUSSELL, MR
TONY BURTON,
MR RAY
COWELL AND
MR JULIAN
SIMPSON
Q200 Chris Mole: So that would be
an appropriate place for the Secretary of State to use the section
45 powers?
Mr Burton: Indeed it would, yes.
Q201 Chairman: Can I just probe briefly
as far as the National Trust are concerned. What is your role
in saying that in a region like the north-east—as a major
landowner, a big business enterprise, a voluntary organisation
or a heritage body?
Mr Burton: All of those and more.
We are also a major education provider.
Q202 Chairman: So in terms of all
of those, how far have you all as an organisation devolved power
and authority within the National Trust to the regional level
or would you be coming to the region with a national agenda?
Mr Burton: No, we have recently
reorganised our organisation effectively to match the English
regions in the last two or three years. For operational reasons
we have got two regions where the external world has one and we
have one region which covers Yorkshire and the North-East because
of the distribution of our properties. We have established a structure
which, working within the framework of the National Trust as an
organisation operating across England, Wales and Northern Ireland,
speak in a way that recognised those regional differences within
England just as we do in Wales and Northern Ireland. We will be
coming to discussions with that combined national and regional
voice, and will also be informed very much by our engagement with
properties and communities across whichever part of the country
we were involved with.
Chairman: On that note, can I thank you
all very much for your evidence.
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