---

Heritage

The hon. Gentleman is right in relation to English Heritage, but he may recall that in the previous spending review, English Heritage was subject to a quinquennial review that was quite critical. Much has been said about the role of Sir Neil Cossons and Simon Thurley in turning that organisation around. However, following the review it was clear that the organisation was bureaucratic and in need of serious modernisation, and that it was not the time to provide it with further funds. Owing to the efficiencies that it made during the previous spending period, largely due to the efforts of all its staff, it will be able to plough about £28 million back into the organisation in the next spending period. It is important to understand where English Heritage has travelled from and where it is now, and we are obviously pleased that the most recent peer review has brought us up to date with the changes that have been made. The review has a bearing on the type of discussions that hon. Members would expect the Department to have with the Treasury at this time. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs also promotes environment-related options as part of its environmental stewardship schemes. That support amounted to an estimated £90 million between 2000 and 2005, which is why the Treasury remains committed to negotiating at EU level a permanent reduced rate of VAT for repairs and maintenance work on many of our most important heritage sites, and particularly on our listed places of worship. I recognise that the heritage sector feels strongly that there should be a zero rate for building repairs generally. We will continue to work with the sector to consider the evidence, and we will continue our discussions with the Treasury on that point. I cannot of course say much about the forthcoming spending review, except that I am grateful to all hon. Members for maintaining the case and for helping to articulate the contribution that the sector makes not only to the economy through tourism but to the life of the nation. We welcome the involvement of the heritage sector in the Department’s advisory forum for the cultural Olympiad. English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Historic Royal Palaces and the Royal Parks are key partners in that work, as are other bodies such as Heritage Link. The Government have renewed their commitment to heritage as one of the lottery good causes beyond 2009, and they have pledged that the percentage share of the non-Olympic causes money that is dedicated to heritage will remain until 2019. We accept that using national lottery funding for London 2012 represents a loss of income for the non-Olympic good causes, but we rightly remain convinced of the huge benefits that will accrue to the sector. I remind hon. Members that, although Australia’s heritage is not as old as ours, Sydney and Australia, and their museums and heritage sector in particular, gained hugely from the Sydney Olympics in the years following the games. All estimates suggest that we will benefit from the tourism and the spotlight on this country. I shall visit Sydney shortly to find out how its sectors benefited, but I am told that according to estimates, there was an increase in income of up to 30 per cent. That must have a bearing on discussions, notwithstanding what the Secretary of State said to the Committee last year. I am not able to add to that, because the discussions with the Treasury are ongoing. The Government also remain committed to helping to preserve our historic churches. We are considering whether there is a role for the Government in ensuring that the guardians of all our listed religious buildings are able to tap into the expertise that is available. The listed places of worship scheme has given more than £54 million since 2001 and more than 8,500 buildings have benefited. Cathedrals have received £43 million from English heritage since 1991 and the latest round of grants will soon be announced. My commitment to cathedrals in this country is on record. They make a huge contribution to cities way beyond the people of faith in those cities. In the present context, there have to be determinations about the priorities within the family formed by our church buildings. We recognise that there are real needs, particularly in relation to our rural churches. We were pleased to be in partnership and to positively respond to and welcome the ““Inspired”” campaign earlier this year. Against that backdrop, it is important to understand that it was widely accepted 10 years ago that many of our cathedrals were on their knees, and that the money that has gone in has been very helpful. I hear what hon. Members have to say in relation to cathedrals and churches—particularly rural churches, and I applaud the work of the Historic Chapels Trust and the Church Conservation Trust. They have done a fantastic job for the churches in their care. All of that, together with the ““Inspired”” campaign, must be part of the conversations that we continue to have with the Treasury as we go forward. Hon. Friends also drew attention to the need for adequate resources at a local authority level. My Department and English Heritage have made a full assessment of the costs of implementing the new reforms, which will be considered as part of the spending review. It is, of course, the case that we would expect those new burdens to be funded and for the capacity to be there. We are working with English heritage on that. Online resources put out by English Heritage are available for everyone on historic management at a local level. We have, of course, considered that issue. We are in the final stages of the heritage protection review, and it was right that we waited for the Committee’s report. I undertake to publish the White Paper before the Easter recess and I hope that hon. Members will be pleased about that. On world heritage sites, I am grateful that so many colleagues from the north-east are here today. Although my Department has a leading role in protecting the historic environment, we work closely and effectively with other Departments, particularly in relation to world heritage. We now have 27 world heritage sites across the UK and in our overseas territories. They are all outstanding in their own way and the UK is in the top five of well-represented countries in terms of the number of sites that we have inscribed. Last year, the World Heritage committee added the Cornwall and west Devon mining landscape to the world heritage list, and this year the committee will consider Darwin in Down for inclusion—Charles Darwin’s historic home and workplace. The inscription of the world heritage list is only the beginning. All of our sites must be and, indeed, are managed to the highest professional standards. We take our responsibility for world heritage very seriously. That is why we were pleased to welcome the UNESCO missions to London and Liverpool at the end of last year. We will be reporting back constructively to the World Heritage committee at the beginning of February. We will take the opportunity in the heritage protection review to clarify and strengthen our protection for world heritage sites. I also note the importance of management plans as part of that process. The hon. Member for Salisbury rightly raises the profound and deep concerns that he has had over a long time in relation to Stonehenge. I put it on record that I agree that, notwithstanding the important issues of affordability, it is a national disgrace that successive Governments have been unable to sort out that problem. Despite the —