Supplementary memorandum from Michael
Coupe
I refer to the ongoing inquiry by the Culture,
Media and Sport Select Committee, and you will be aware that I
submitted evidence to the Select Committee in a personal capacity.
Although I was not called to give oral evidence
to the Committee, I understand that it may still be possible to
submit supplementary factual evidence in support of the evidence
already given. I had hoped to be able to get the necessary information
before now, but regrettably this did not prove to be possible.
In my evidence, I drew attention to the real
terms cuts in the grant in aid from Government to English Heritage
and highlighted the deleterious effect this was having on the
work of the organisation. One obvious effect was the serious decline
in the amount of grant funding from English Heritage to the heritage
sector as a whole—as evidenced recently, for example, in
the complaints by the Cathedrals about the level of grants made
available to them.
With the help of Griff Parry, I have calculated
what would be the current buying equivalent of past sums of grant
in aid made available to English Heritage, and compared them to
the present figures. The Committee will note that this comparison
reveals a startling real terms decline in English Heritage's funding.
The relevant figures are as follows:
1994-05—£104,439,000 (before accounting
adjustments).
[Note. This figure is before accounting adjustments
but, unlike subsequent figures, does not exclude specific grants.
To make it comparable, it would be reasonable to subtract c £1
million—which probably a conservative estimate. In fact,
I have not chosen to do so because of the uncertainty as to what
the true figure should be. It follows, therefore, that the real
terms difference by comparison with the current figure of grant
in aid will be an underestimate.]
1997-08—£102,900,000 (excluding specific
grants and before accounting adjustments).
2004-05—£122,942,000 (excluding specific
grants and before accounting adjustments).
The current buying equivalent of the 1994-05
figure is as follows:
£141,289,000 (RPI).
£192,197,000 (TPI).
and of the 1997-08 figure:
£139,207,000 (RPI).
£164,127,000 (TPI).
[Note. RPI is the Retail Price Index, and TPI
the Tender Price Index. For an organisation directly involved
in funding building repair work, the latter figure is obviously
the most relevant. It is also important to note that planned maintenance/repair,
unlike new build, is subject to VAT at the full rate.]
By subtracting the 2004-05 figure, the extent
of the shortfall is as follows:
£18,347,000 (RPI).
£69,255,000 (TPI).
£16,265,000 (RPI).
£41,185,000 (TPI).
If one also takes into account the fact that
English Heritage has absorbed the responsibility (and the financial
consequences) for a number of new duties during this period, the
seriousness of the situation is immediately apparent.
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