Updates from The Heritage Alliance

Policy Updates

This fortnight:

The Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill passed Second Reading in Parliament and moved on to Committee Stage. We recently published a summary of the draft Bill, and have since worked closely with members of our Spatial Planning Advocacy Group (SPAG) to produce a more detailed briefing for members of the Bill Committee.

Our Chief Executive Lizzie was called as a witness to the session of the Public Bill Committee alongside Create Streets and Alliance members RIBA and CPRE. You can watch the session here and read the full transcript here.

Lizzie also recently attended the Government’s Heritage Council, where particular topics of focus were the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill, Energy Security and Efficiency, and International Tourism. DCMS, BEIS and DLUHC ministers heard from a range of Alliance members.

Further Updates from our Team

This week, our Head of Policy and Communications Polly Martin spoke as part of the panel at the Fit for The Future ‘Future of Heating’ conference, looking at the public policy challenges and opportunities, what is required from Government, and how organisations can get involved. The discussion was chaired by Georgina Holmes Skelton (Head of Government Affairs at The National Trust [Alliance member]).

Yesterday, our Head of Development Delphine Jasmin-Belisle travelled to Edinburgh for a discussion at the Historic Environment Forum conference on Our Place in Time - Scotland’s refreshed strategy for the historic environment - and hear about priorities for Scotland’s historic environment.

Polly and Lizzie also joined members of the HEF (Historic Environment Forum) team on Monday for the Forum’s annual Foresight Day. HEF has published two key publications over the past fortnight – which we recommend you read more about below. Monday’s event was also a chance for colleagues to wave goodbye to Francesca Benetti, who has been the first HEF Steering Group Manager and worked hard to support the Forum and embed a new sustainable structure for its work. Her role will be taken over by Aisling Parrish, who has joined the HEF team this week from DCMS, where she was a Cultural Property Policy Advisor.

Key New Publications for the Sector

Heritage Sector Resilience Plan

The pandemic exacerbated the serious challenges faced by the sector, and there is the opportunity to take lessons learnt from the initial impact of the pandemic, and continue collaboration to bolster the sector.

The Heritage Sector Resilience Plan, produced by the Historic Environment Forum (HEF) with the support of Historic England, was launched on Tuesday 28 June and is designed to provide a clear roadmap to a more robust and resilient heritage sector.

The Plan focuses on five themes under which sector organisations can work collaboratively on: skills; strong governance; climate change; diversity and inclusion; and embedding heritage in wider policy.

Historic Environment Overview

HEF has also published the Historic Environment Overview (Spring) 2022, with support from The National Trust and Historic England. Published as part of Heritage Counts, the report highlights the resilience and ingenuity of the sector over 2021-22 while responding to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The report also outlines the major policy changes which may transform the way the historic environment is managed, including replacements for EU funding and the development of the levelling up agenda. 

Rebuilding Heritage – New Participant Case Studies

The final pair of participant case studies from our Rebuilding Heritage programme have now been published. Each case study outlines the support these organisations received through the live programme and how they put these into practice to help build their organisational resilience over 2021.

• Redhills CIO [Alliance member], the organisation looking after the historic seat of the Durham Miners’ Association, shared in their case study how they overcame their pandemic challenges and addressed the impact of COVID while coping with recent organisational changes.
• The Victorian Society [Alliance member] is a nationwide voice for Victorian and Edwardian heritage. Their case study explores how they navigated a rapid transition to working from home and reworked their fundraising plans in response to the pandemic.

Find further case studies, insight reports, guidance, podcasts and webinar recordings on the project website – and you can sign up to receive the most recent updates

Heritage Digital Academy – Free Courses & Resources

A reminder that the Heritage Alliance and partners are still offering free training through the Heritage Digital Academy (funded by DCMS through the Heritage Fund’s Digital Skills for Heritage initiative).

Upcoming free webinars include:

• Understanding Data Protection and making a plan to stay compliant - 5 July (10:00-12:30)
• Engagement and outreach with youth audiences - 20 July (10:00-11:15)

We also recommend that organisations take part in upcoming courses on Designing Digital Services and Making a Plan for Digital this September. You can access a range of guidance on the website covering topics including digital marketing, copyright and data protection for heritage organisations.

Welcome to our New Alliance Members!

We are thrilled to welcome Scouts Heritage Service and The Public Sculpture and Statues Association as the newest members of The Heritage Alliance.

The Scouts Heritage Collection holds photographs, diaries, letters and objects which tell the story of over 100 years of Scouting activity. The Scouts was founded by Robert Baden-Powell as a method of teaching young people skills for life through a programme of outdoor activities, adventure and fun. Today over 450,000 young people aged 6 - 25 years take part in Scouting in the UK.

The Public Sculpture and Statues Association (PSSA) encourages engagement with the many thousands of sculptures in the public domain across the UK, which represent an important part of our shared cultural heritage. It champions the historical, artistic and social context of public statues and sculpture, and also promotes education about sculpture, publishing articles, academic papers and specialist books.

Share Your News with The Heritage Sector

Do you have news/jobs/courses/events to share with the 6500+ heritage professionals subscribed to Heritage Update? Please use our advertiser's form to send through content (maximum 70 words) for £165 (per item, per issue), or at no cost if your organisation is a member of The Heritage Alliance.

Read more in our step-by-step guide on sharing your content in Heritage Update.

Government News

Our summary of the latest announcements and guidance for the heritage sector.

Headlines

• Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill – Committee Stage

• Oral Evidence on Placemaking & Levelling Up (14 June)

• Windrush Monument Unveiled in London

DCMS & Culture

Protecting Cultural Objects on Loan – Guidance Update

The DCMS guidance on Protecting cultural objects on loan has been updated to state that from 28 June, approved museums can apply for extended periods of immunity from seizure protection for objects already on loan through the Extension Request Form available on the page. This guidance has been designed to help UK museums and galleries protect cultural objects that have been loaned from abroad.

Windrush Monument Unveiled

On 22 June, the National Windrush Monument was unveiled at London Waterloo Station. It has been designed by Jamaican artist Basil Watson, featuring a man, woman and child standing on suitcases and it ‘acknowledges and celebrates the Windrush generation’s outstanding contribution’ to British society. To mark Windrush Day 2022, thirty-five events and activities also took place across England.

The new monument has been celebrated, and there is a public call on the Government to make the 75^th Windrush anniversary a major national moment next year, with the letter having 100 signatories.

UK House Event

UK House: The Commonwealth Business Hub will be hosted between 28 July to 8 August, during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Registration has opened and it is expected that over 1500 businesses across the Commonwealth will attend both in person and virtually. One of the seven sectors to be discussed is Tourism, the others being: Food and Drink, Education, Data-Driven Healthcare, Sports Economy, Creative and Digital Technologies and Future Mobility.

Live Events Reinsurance Scheme Analysis

New analysis published by DCMS highlights that the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme provided events with £117 million of cover from its launch in September 2021. A total of £400 million was generated by events which had been supported by the scheme. It is also estimated that at least 14,000 jobs were supported and there was a sum of 2.8 million attendees at the events throughout the UK.

DCMS Economic Estimates 2021

DCMS has published data on employment and earnings for all its sectors (excluding tourism). The report covers January to December 2021 and provides infographics for changes in employment, workforce demographics and median hourly gross pay.

DCMS Committee – Oral Evidence on Placemaking & Levelling Up

The DCMS Committee held an oral evidence session on 14 June to discuss their current inquiry into cultural placemaking and the levelling up agenda. This was attended by representatives from Historic England, Arts Council England and Theatres Trust [Alliance member]. The full transcript is available to read here.

Temporary Export Bar on Tissot Painting

The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest has placed a temporary export bar on Algernon Marsden by Jacques Joseph Tissot. The painting dates to the late 19^th century and has become notable for its role within the Aesthetic movement from the same period.

Planning

Community Ownership Fund – Round 2 Webinar Slides

The webinar slides for prospective Community Ownership Fund Round 2 applicants have been published. It includes details on the Fund, a summary of Round 1, changes for Round 2, the EOI stage, development support, questions and a timeline.

Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill

The Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill has reached Committee stage (see our policy updates above for a summary on our current related work on behalf of the sector).

If you are interested in learning about stages of the Bill process, we recommend this useful explainer on the UK Parliament website. 

A reminder that the Bill Committee has launched a call for written evidence, open for organisations to submit views on the Bill for consideration by the Committee. The deadline is set for 20 September, but early submissions are encouraged.

Tourism & Hospitality

IPS Figures for 2021

VisitBritain has published IPS figures for 2021, highlighting that tourism to the UK generated £5.8 billion last year which is 80% down from 2019 and attracted 6.2 million visitors which is 85% less than 2019. The figures are significant in demonstrating the impact that the pandemic has had on the sector.

ALVA Public Sentiment Research - June 2022

The latest Visitor Sentiment Research for June 2022 has been published. This was commissioned by ALVA [Alliance Member] and undertaken by Decision House. It is also available to watch as a webinar in which the findings are explored through a presentation.

Topics covered include Covid, the cost of living and summer holidays, with over a third of participants stating they are more likely to visit attractions this summer compared to 2021.

Review Launched for short-term Tourist Accommodation

A new government review has been launched regarding the benefits and challenges of short-term holiday lets in England to help protect the sector and tourist destination communities. A consultation has also been issued on the topic, with a deadline of 21 September.

Education

Schools White Paper Developments

DCMS and DfE published a policy paper on 25 June titled ‘The power of music to change lives: A National Plan for Music Education’, outlining the Government’s vision for music education and how its aims will be achieved by 2030.

News on Ukraine

Cultural Sites Damaged in Ukraine

A report from UNESCO revealed that as of 8 June, 143 cultural sites have been damaged in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. This includes 27 historic buildings, 12 museums and 15 monuments alongside other sites. UNESCO continues to monitor and record data on the impact of the war.

COVID-19

EU Digital COVID Certificate

The Council of the EU has extended the regulation establishing the EU digital COVID certificate. The regulation establishing the EU digital COVID certificate will be prolonged by one year, until 30 June 2023. EU travellers as well as those from third countries connected to the system can continue to use their EU digital COVID certificate for travel within the Union in member states where these certificates are required.

Review our Guidance for the Sector

A reminder that we have collated relevant guidance for the heritage sector in our COVID-19 Hub.

Brexit & Immigration

For a round-up of recent guidance:

The Heritage Alliance Brexit Hub lists recent Brexit guidance of relevance to the heritage sector. You can also read our briefings on Heritage, Brexit and Immigration on our website.

The Historic Environment Forum Brexit FAQs Trello Board also sets out useful material to help the sector navigate the post-Brexit period.

Parliamentary & Other Government News

• The ONS has published the first results from Census 2021 in England and Wales, relating initially to population, which show that the population has grown by 6.3% since the last Census in 2011.

• The Government has announced that the Cost of Living Package has received Royal Assent. The package includes providing millions with £1200 this year, an extra £150 for over 6 million disabled people and a £300 top up for eligible pensioners.

• By-elections took place in the constituencies of Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton on 23 June. Labour MP Simon Lightwood won the Wakefield by-election and Richard Foord of the Liberal Democrats won the Tiverton and Honiton by-election.

• Alan Lovell has been announced as the preferred Environment Agency Chair candidate

Recent appointments:

• Patricia Yates has been appointed as CEO of VisitBritain

• Sukhy Johal MBE, Kate Willard OBE, Professor Roni Brown, Andrew Miller MBE and Elisabeth Murdoch have all been reappointed to Arts Council England

• Hugh Bullock, Lt Gen Andrew Figgures and Mark Urban have been reappointed as trustees of the Imperial War Museum

• Andy Haldane has been appointed as Chair of Levelling Up Advisory Council

Also This Fortnight:

• Attlee the cat, named after Labour prime minister Clement Attlee (1945-1951), is the House of Commons’ newest resident.

Sector Digest

Read on for a breakdown of the latest news from across the sector.

News from the Heritage Fund

Business Support and Enterprise Development Programmes

Seven programmes across the UK will be supported by an extra year of funding of nearly £2 million as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund [Alliance member] Business Support and Enterprise Development initiative to help the sector build after the pandemic.

Business support grants have been awarded to our own Rebuilding Heritage to extend support until September with check-ins for participants, as well as to Surviving to Thriving, Heritage Compass, Re:Model and Catalyst Cymru: Broadening Horizons. Enterprise development grants will be given to Steps to Sustainability and Heritage Trade Up.

Funding Awarded to Six Projects

Six projects which ‘put heritage at the heart of people and places’ are to receive a total of £13.7 million through the National Lottery Heritage Fund grant programme: Species on Edge, Blyth Heritage Community Response, Redruth Buttermarket: Rediscovering the Market Town, Leeds 2023, Destination Tweed: Source to Sea Restoration and Revitalisation and Hurst Farm Heritage Trail. Grant programmes from the National Lottery have reopened and can be accessed here.

Ignite Yorkshire – Young People & Industrial Heritage

The Heritage Fund has also recently shared a case study from Ignite Yorkshire – an organisation supported by the National Lottery’s Kick the Dust programme. Ignite Yorkshire works with young people aged 14-19 to help engage and connect them with Yorkshire’s industrial heritage.

Instant Pulse

The results from Week 3 of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Instant Pulse show that 51% of participants agree that the cost of living crisis is having a severe impact on visitor numbers and/or their operations. The question for Week 4 is ‘as a heritage organisation, we don’t have the energy or capacity to look beyond the here and now.’ The poll can be answered here.

2022 Movement for Good Awards – Draw 1 Winners

250 charities have now received a donation of £1,000 as part of the Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards. This is the fourth year of the Movement for Good awards, through which Ecclesiastical Insurance [Alliance Corporate Partner] and the Benefact Group are giving away £1million to charities nominated by the public to recognise their positive work. A further 120 £1,000 grants will be given away in December and £500,000 will also be given in larger grants later this year.

Art Fund – Upcoming Funding

Art Fund has announced that it will be providing £2m in new funding opportunities for museums and galleries across the UK. The charity is launching a further round of its Reimagine fund (designed to support sector professionals in their recovery from the pandemic), with grants available of between £10,000 and £50,000. The scheme will be open for applications from 4 July to 12 September.

The next round of the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund is due to launch soon, which exists to enable museums to borrow important works from major collections.

Family Friendly Museum Award 2022 - Shortlist

Kids in Museums has announced the shortlist for their Family Friendly Museum Award 2022. The 16 museums on this year’s list come from across the UK and are grouped under categories for ‘Best Large Museum’, ‘Best Medium Museum’, ‘Best Small Museum’, ‘Best Accessible Museum’ and ‘Best Family Engagement Team’.  Over the summer holidays, undercover family judges will visit the shortlisted museums and judge them on how well they meet the Kids in Museums Manifesto. The winners will be announced in October.

Port Sunlight Announces Bid for World Heritage Status

It was announced at the AIM [Alliance member] conference on 17 June that the Merseyside village of Port Sunlight has launched a bid to be inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Notable heritage sites in Port Sunlight village include the Lady Lever Art Gallery and Hulme Hall, and around 900 homes influenced by William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement.

Upcoming BBC2 Documentary – Why Buildings Collapse

Reflecting on the first anniversary of the tragic events at Champlain Towers South, where a Miami condominium complex rapidly collapsed causing 98 fatal casualties, a documentary will be aired on BBC 2 to put UK building maintenance issues into that wider context. Prof Douglas Robertson, and BEFS Director Ailsa Macfarlane, offered comment on the challenges, and future prospects, for the management and maintenance of multiple ownership buildings in Scotland.

Why Buildings Collapse is currently scheduled to be broadcast on Tuesday 28 June 2022 at 9.30pm on BBC2 HD.

Alliance Member News

A snapshot of the current work of our members.

Consultations

Open Consultations (with closing dates):

• DHSC - Mental health and wellbeing plan: discussion paper and call for evidence – 7 July (extended)

• DCMS - UNESCO World Heritage Sites - UK Tentative List Review – 15 July

• DLUHC - Business Rates Revaluation 2023: Consultation on the transitional arrangements – 18 July

• DLUHC - Compulsory purchase - compensation reforms - 19 July

• DCMS - views sought to boost the security of UK data centres and cloud services – 24 July

• DEFRA – Consultation on the principles of marine net gain – 30 August

• Charity Commission – proposed changes to the Annual Return – 1 September

• DCMS – Developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England – 21 September

Events

Upcoming Heritage Events - Quick Look

• 30 June: GAHI Global Excellence Webinar Series No.4, AHI - Online

• 30 June - 1 July: Children & Heritage: A two-day colloquium - Centre for the History of Childhood & National Trust Partnership, University of Oxford

• 5 July: Understanding Data Protection and making a plan to stay compliant - Heritage Digital Academy, webinar

• 20 July: Engagement and outreach with youth audiences - Heritage Digital Academy, webinar

• 7 – 13 July: SPAB Summer Working Party 2022 - Boxley Abbey & St Andrew's Chapel

• 14 July: Open High Streets - High Street Regeneration: High Streets as Cultural Centres, HTN - Devonport

• 16 – 31 July: Festival of Archaeology 2022, CBA - in person/ online events

• 12 – 14 Oct: AHI Conference 2022 - Y cysylltiad / The connection, AHI – Wales

• (Postponed: The 2022 Tourism Conference - Changes During Recovery – London)

Courses

Upcoming Heritage Courses:

• 12 May - 21 November: Libraries Preservation & Collections Care – West Dean College of Arts and Conservation & British Library

• 23 June: Writing heritage interpretation day course, TDR Heritage Ltd

• 7 July: Writing Heritage Interpretation (Virtual Day Course) – TDR Heritage Ltd
• 6 Aug - 3 Sept: Tracing Your Female Ancestors, SoG 
• 6 Sept - 8 Nov: Lost in London, Society of Genealogists
• 15 Sept: An Introduction to Lime in Building, SPAB
• 16 Sept: Hot Limes in Building, SPAB
• 7 - 8 Oct: An Introduction to Plain Lime Plastering, SPAB
• 17 Oct - 26 Nov: Understanding Your Old House Course, SPAB
• 5 Nov 2022 - 10 Dec 2022: Researching 17th Century Ancestors, Society of Genealogists
• 9 Nov - 14 Dec 2022: Heritage Interpretation Online, AHI

Jobs

Salaried

Unsalaried

Notes & Subscriptions

The voice of the independent heritage movement, Heritage Update is a free e-bulletin produced on a fortnightly basis by The Heritage Alliance.

You can also visit our website to access an archive of previous issues.

Advertise in Heritage Update

Heritage Update reaches an estimated 14,000 inboxes, is tweeted to our 22.7k Twitter followers, and is shared on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Sharing news, events, courses and vacancies in Heritage Update is free for Heritage Alliance Members, or costs £165 per ad per issue for non-members.

Simply submit our online advertiser's form with the details and payment (if needed) ahead of the content deadline for an upcoming issue. The full instructions are on our website.

We also welcome image-based advertising for academic courses, projects and services of interest to the sector. This costs £75 for members (to feature an 'enhanced' member news item) and £185 for non-members.

Schedule of forthcoming issues:

• Issue 472 - Thurs 14 July (content deadline: 8 July)
• Issue 473 - Thurs 28 July (content deadline: 22 July)
• Issue 474 - Thurs 11 August (content deadline: 5 August)
• Issue 475 – Thurs 25 August (content deadline: 19 Aug)

If you wish to use or quote from items in Heritage Update, you should always check the accuracy and current position with the source. The Heritage Alliance cannot guarantee the accuracy of (or accept any responsibility for) the contents of Heritage Update.

Seeking Funding/Guidance for Your Heritage Project?

The Heritage Alliance is not a funding body, but we co-manage the Heritage Funding Directory with the Architectural Heritage Fund. This free resource for the sector includes a directory we have jointly collated, listing funding sources for heritage projects across the UK (and internationally), and includes some helpful guidance on fundraising.

We are currently updating existing records in the directory. If you are a funder and would like to list your fund in the Heritage Funding Directory, please follow this link to submit the details through our online form. We also welcome updates to existing entries through this form.

Support The Heritage Alliance

A donation to The Heritage Alliance will help us to champion, inspire, catalyse and support the independent heritage sector. Thank you.

Contact Us

Chief Executive
Lizzie Glithero-West
lizzie.glithero-west@theheritagealliance.org.uk

Advocacy & Communications Officer (Heritage Update Contact)
Daniella Briscoe-Peaple 0207 233 0800
comms@theheritagealliance.org.uk

Head of Policy & Communications
Polly Martin 0207 233 0700
policy@theheritagealliance.org.uk

Head of Development & Membership
Delphine Jasmin-Belisle 0207 233 0600
development@theheritagealliance.org.uk

A full list of our staff contact information can be found here on our website.

Unsubscribe?

If you no longer wish to be on the mailing list for Heritage Update, please scroll to the very end of this email and click 'Unsubscribe'.

Heritage Update is produced by The Heritage Alliance, with thanks to our generous sponsors the Historic Houses Foundation.

Image credits (in order of appearance): The Landmark Trust; Waterloo Uncovered; English Heritage; Heritage Open Days; Wessex Archaeology; The SPAB; National Historic Ships UK. Details of the header image are listed at the top of each issue.