C O N T E X T 1 3 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 39 Notes from the chair Making change work for us This has been a fascinating period, with proposals and ideas becoming increasingly focussed and once-radical notions moving to the mainstream. Many bodies are working in different partnerships taking forward a diverse range of new ideas – motivated by the need to find new ways of protecting our heritage in the face of the continuing austerity programme. Cuts in resources for public sector heritage provision have deepened again in recent months, particularly in the rural districts. The conservation team at Wirral have recently lost their jobs, for example. Having been placed in a similar position myself in recent years, I wish them every bit of luck in securing future work. Perhaps the slight upturn in commissions recently reported by private sector members of our Historic Environment Service Providers Recognition (HESPR) Scheme offers potential. Nevertheless, the long-term damage to our heritage of these short-sighted cuts can not be underestimated. The IHBC will continue to campaign to make known the consequences of this aspect of government policy, in the anticipation of vocal public and business support for conservation services and the hope that a more balanced, cultured view comes forward fromWestminster. The loss of conservation officer posts came top of the survey carried out by the National Heritage Protection Plan Advisory Board earlier this spring as an agenda-setting exercise for the proposed NHPP#2. The move towards a more sector-wide remit for the board is now well-established. At the time of writing much work has been done in readiness for its re-launch as Heritage 20:20. Five themes have been identified for the board to develop, with a particular focus on finding new ways for individual bodies to liaise and work together to deliver better outcomes. I have picked up the capacity-building theme, and hereby invite contributions as to how this can be improved, both in terms of numbers (quantity) and training (quality). After much thought, and with its original role as sector-wide advisors to English Heritage on its corporate plan and programme now redundant, the NHPP Advisory Board has wound itself up. Following discussions between the chairs, in future it will be a reconvened group working under the Historic Environment Forum. Do take the opportunity to find the Heritage 20:20 website and familiarise yourself with its aims and objectives and the five themes, and let me know how you think they might be progressed. Another body on which I represent the IHBC is the Historic Environment Forum sub-group that includes representatives from the archaeology world (IfA, CBA and ALGAO), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), English Heritage and the IHBC. Following much discussion about how we might set a sector-led agenda for reform, this reported to the last HEF meeting with a range of proposals both short and long term. Many of the former are oven-ready proposals left over from the Heritage Protection Reform Bill in 2009 that were not picked up under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. In consequence, many are archaeology reforms. For the conservation world, the reforms tend to be longer term and will need further advocacy before they might be picked up by a future government.We continue to press for measures to unpick the damage done (and still being done) under the Shimizu ruling: for example, an examination of the harm being done within conservation areas and to local heritage by the unfettered exercise of permitted development rights. The opportunity was also taken to call for a more logical approach to the application of VAT on works to listed buildings. One notable area of work is the increasing interest in heritage tax credits as a way of providing tax relief for owners. I am indebted to AnnaMarie Pagano for her knowledge of how these work in the USA and for her persistence in persuading Vince Cable to hear the arguments, and for arranging a preliminary meeting with Treasury officials. That meeting was far from easy. The Treasury officials we met are locked into the logic of the austerity programme and reduction of the deficit so they were highly resistant to the notion, despite evidence from the USA that for every dollar given in tax credits $1.26 is generated in federal taxes. One would hope that a future government might be interested in measures that generated work, saved heritage and increased the tax yield.We will have to redouble our efforts in putting this case forward. To that end our director, serendipitously in the USA on different business, has contacted and met the key personnel there to explore how they might support the campaign.We await future Treasury meetings with interest. Much of the above work is being taken forward as part of sector partnerships. I am pleased to note growing bonds and trust with other organisations. Nevertheless, I am careful to ensure that the IHBC officers and staff meet and discuss each stage of the various processes, so that any proposal is tested against contrasting views to ensure that it is compatible with the IHBC’s own aims, and that deliverability is given proper scrutiny. I have been busy over recent weeks with meetings of finance and resources, policy, council and membership and ethics committees and with our director, Seán O’Reilly, to set strategies. Finally, I should mention the continuing hard work being done by our president, Trefor Thorpe, to find a new structure for our governance that opens up council to more democratic involvement from the branches and wider membership, balanced with the need for committed and informed trustees, while meeting the increasing requirement for more responsive, efficient executive decision-making. As always, none this could happen without the hard work of our staff and the commitment of our volunteers. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any comment to make about the IHBC. Mike Brown, chair@ihbc.org.uk
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