Historic Environment Scotland has welcomed the confirmation of its budget settlement for the coming year following the final parliamentary vote on the Scottish Government Budget for 2018-19.
The 2018-19 Budget provides HES a total operating budget of £98.2m for the year, with £41.1m provided by the Scottish Government Grant in Aid and the remaining £57.1m drawn from commercial income. This is a £12m increase in the commercial income retained by HES, more than offsetting a reduction of £3.6m in the Grant in Aid
Director of Finance, Donella Steel said; “The budget settlement recognises the record breaking visitor numbers at many of our sites and the success of our commercial activities.
“By the end of the 2017-18 financial year, we are expecting an increase in commercial income to over £54 million while also setting a new record for visitors to our paid sites – on track for an increase of 17% on the previous year.
“By any measure this is great performance and we expect it to continue in the coming year.
“This budget lets us move ahead with our recently announced Investment Plan, and bring new benefits and experiences to visitors across some of Scotland’s most iconic heritage sites. The 2018-19 budget settlement additionally allows HES to continue with its external funding programme, providing £14.5m through a wide variety of heritage grant programmes across Scotland.”