Revised summary of issues from submissions

1. Government – policy issues
• inconsistency in approach to archaeological remains between and within government departments (eg DCMS, DETR, DTLR, MoD, ODPM) - need greater liaison between them
• need specialist staff in government departments
• raise awareness of archaeology so that the divide between natural and cultural heritage is diminished
• need recognition for archaeology beyond tourism eg cultural and educational aspects and in eg taxation/subsidy
• rationalise legislation and guidance eg policies and practice in agriculture, forestry, local government, transport, planning, housing, minerals and management of their estates; ecclesiastical sites
• need annual reporting and UK-wide approach
• local Authorities need statutory role in archaeology and legislation which recognises the regional and local importance of archaeological sites.
2. Funding strategies:
• need substantial increase in government funding to underpin the development of archaeology
• ensure funding for non-developer work
• proposed development tax ie percentage cost levied on all development
• desire for transparency in decision-making regarding funding
• relax rules on landfill tax credit
• remove VAT on historic buildings and churches etc
• Local Authorities need further resources to fulfil additional functions
• extra funding to enable purchase of portable antiquities
• ease Heritage Lottery Funding regulations
3. National heritage agencies/organisations
• Need extra funding for increased responsibilities of national heritage agencies
• need more strategic projects eg Monuments at Risk (MARS)
• need national standards and the monitoring thereof for SMR etc
• some organisations excessively bureaucratic with top-heavy management
• need well coordinated initiatives between national agencies and local societies
• more cooperation between all national heritage agencies
• need better career path within national agencies
4. Site protection
• revision planning legislation for more effective conservation and management of historic environment especially for protection of remains falling outside planning process eg agriculture (sub-soiling, de-stoning, power harrowing, drainage, soil erosion and agrichemical/animal slurry waters), works by statutory undertakers, natural processes, smaller permitted developments in towns; small pipelines and surface stripping; afforestation; mineral extraction; desiccation of waterlogged resources; artefact scatters and palaeo-environmental deposits; geomorphologically significant sites; include underground sites; industrial sites; lithic scatters; status of bridleways
• increase awareness amongst police and make meaningful punishment for transgressors
• revise scheduling and listing procedures with a wider definitions of ancient monuments
• problem of preservation versus excavation and tourism
• lack of staff to deal with increased number of protected sites
• inconsistent approach to industrial sites and churches
• loss of unlisted buildings of historical value
• need records of historic buildings tracking all alterations
• develop integrated coastal zone management including offshore SMR
5. Sites and Monuments (SMRs) and Historic Environment Resource Centres (HERCs)
• inadequate resourcing means development slow and uneven
• provision needs to be statutory
• understaffing leads to accumulation of huge backlog
• SMRs should consistently include upstanding buildings and maritime and coastal sites
• SMR resource should be available to as wide an audience as possible including on-line and public libraries.
6. Planning Policy Guidelines (especially PPGs 15 and 16)
• PPGs 15 and 16 have led to an exponential increase in investigations – need new statutory legislation and all projects go through a new evaluation procedure
• need statutory provision for post-excavation and publication
• need better integration between the PPGs
• competitive tendering has led to lowering of standards (some areas a monopoly) also excessive attention on minor sites
• need provision for amateurs
• too much depends on parochial circumstance - LAs are susceptible to political and financial influence
• fragmentation of the profession along academic and commercial lines
• fragmentation within the contracting profession
• specialists fail to communicate well with each other and non-specialists - impedes research
• separation of excavation team from post-excavation /writing-up/publication
• lack communication leading to duplication of effort
• tendering system means non-local bodies engaged in work which can lead to much duplication of work for background info etc
7. Treasure and Portable Antiquities
• need secure framework and funding for Portable Antiquities Scheme
• extend Scheme
• register details of portable antiquities on database
• Scheme perceived by some as accelerating destruction
• need grants to support purchase of treasure
• redefine treasure
• publicise laws on Treasure and portable antiquities
• revise principles of ownership
• reinforce illicit trade as an offence
• create database of cultural objects
• rigorous issue of export licenses
• repatriation following UNESCO guidelines
8. Community / public archaeology
• need statutory obligation for communities to be informed of all archaeological work
• need archaeological liaison officer
• access to SMRs
• foster social inclusion eg Culture-on-line
• need community involvement
• give breadth to focus eg museums, conservation and above-ground archaeology
• public recognition for user groups who raise issues eg re spiritual needs for access or reburial
• outreach encourage public access throughout whole process
• ensure standards to avoid dumbing down
• need locally-based archaeology service
• need statutory framework for what should be provided by Local Authority archaeological services with adequate funding
• joined-up approach between professional, amateurs and volunteers, failure to take account of local knowledge
• PPG work has poor provision for public access
• archaeology and Best Value statements
• more large and permanent regional units
9. Volunteers/amateurs
• need for training for amateurs
• education and liaison officers to encourage voluntary work
• disappearance of opportunities for amateurs
• widening rift between professional and amateur - need more liaison between professional and amateurs
• forum of communication between universities, museums and local societies
• inform of local interventions - need a database of local activity
• regional network professional staff seconded to liaise with amateurs and museums
• encourage voluntary sector to do research and get qualifications
• encouraging especially young
• many amateur industrial archaeologists are better qualified than professionals
• remove bar on Heritage Lottery Fund for training excavations
• more communication between societies - pool expertise and equipment
• costs of venue for lectures
• maintain local diversity in terms of input rather than force central regulation
• charity and VAT laws make too much paperwork for local societies
• anti-licensing (Valetta, article 3) – perceived to restrict work of amateurs vs pro-licensing to raise amateur and professional standards; control bad practice but not prohibit/inhibit
10. Education
• promote wider public interest
• present historic environment as educational resource
• Schools:
  incorporate prehistory, including the palaeolithic in school curriculum
• promote archaeology school qualifications
• enable archaeology graduates to enter teacher training
• incorporate archaeology in wide range of curriculum subjects
• encourage an awareness of local archaeology including industrial archaeology
• Universities: costs of university education put British students at disadvantage compared with other countries in Europe
• masters for professional training will increase debt burden on students students leaving with little practical experience
• funding often given to universities in preference to units with specialist expertise
• need professional placement system at university level
• establish centres of excellence in universities for Industrial Archaeology
• forge links between local authority officers and universities and fieldworkers - university routine involvement in consultation planning process
• encourage research in UK
• teach skills for professionalism and commercial archaeology
• Continuing Education: lifelong learning opportunities for adults to ensure standards in non- professional sector
• inflexible system of funding (HEFCE) with bias to courses with qualifications
• include industrial archaeology
11. Conservation
• cuts to archaeological conservation lack of conservators
• need research into conservation
• training for conservation posts
• regional conservation centres to share facilities and expertise
12. Museums and archives
• storage areas full – need regional accessible depots with space for research for long-term provision in correct atmospheric conditions and adequate staffing levels
need guidance on what constitutes appropriate repository
• underfunding of national and local authority museums
• no designated posts to curate collections
• cuts mean disposal of material, need coherent policy
• prevent archives being split
• rationalise published archives
• upgrade old archives
• need standards for archives
• list of archive holdings eg Archaeological Data Service
• need data on nos of artefacts unearthed each year
• need better reporting procedures so local museums are informed
• educational role of museums
• low standards of display with poor presentation and interpretation – need national standards
• need more local exhibitions and national travelling ones
• return of material which should be in regional museum
• develop partnerships between national and local museums
• claim VAT back for university museums
13. Archaeology as a profession
• no system for providing integrated training, accreditation or career structure
• dwindling number of specialists - need database of existing specialists
• interest in artefacts has declined - out of date or lack of corpora
• lack of synthesis of finds material with lack of common terminology
• lack sharing of skills and regional cooperation
• inadequate training provided for professionals with some dubious quality training schools being set up
• training needs to include health and safety on site; report writing, surveying, use of information for desk-top evaluation, staff management
• currently no meaningful code of practice or terms of reference to ensure consistency of standards
• need regulatory independent body
• need flexible local system with minimum standards, training and disciplinary action
• job insecurity with short term casual contracts
• units cannot charge ‘normal’ overheads of eg training and development and accommodation etc because threat of undercutting
• poor pay
• need minimum terms and conditions
• many professionals overworked and demotivated
14. Dissemination / publication
• need compulsory provision to be made for post-excavation and publication to acceptable standard
• grey literature needs to be made available
• synthesis of work required
• dissemination needs to be enjoyable and accessible - regional publication in a variety of media outlets
• lack coherent IT strategy for the publication of specialist reports
• major backlog of publication needs listing
• national register of all investigations
• confidentiality clauses hinder dissemination
15. Research
• Lack of research support for Local Authority curatorial archaeologists
• excavation only undertaken if a threat therefore framework for research archaeology is undermined
• need for research-led rescue projects with an inter-disciplinary approach
• lack of percolation of research ideas throughout sector
• need to digest data and provide overall analysis for longer-term overview and strategic planning
• need for a sustained programme of synthesis; need joined-up approach to promote projects which are collaborative across all 4 main sectors – public, private, academic and voluntary
• lack of research because most work is watching brief and site evaluation
• some research designs inhibit innovation
• development tax would enable excavation of a selection of sites of high research interest
• competing organisations reluctant to talk to each other so no overall research policy
• national and regional research frameworks needed to inform strategy
16. Tourism and recreation
• archaeology under-valued in respect of tourism and recreation
• some government emphasis on archaeological input to tourism at expense of other consideration
• Local Authorities need resources and policy to develop tourism
• information gap between brochures and Sites and Monuments Records
• dilemma tourism vs preservation
17. Scotland
• divergence between Scotland and England in archaeological policy formulation
• Scottish Executive’s (HS has low profile) intention to abolish Ancient Monuments Board and Historic Buildings Council for Scotland
• Council for British Archaeology and Institute of Field Archaeologists (with UK remit) focus on England - need a common approach to archaeological policy formulation across UK
• European Landscape Convention applied to Scotland
• liaison across government departments
• urgent need for complete review of provision of archaeological services
• Some Local Authorities make no provision for historic environment