‘Unacceptable weaknesses’ in leadership at heritage body, auditor general warns

A heritage body responsible for hundreds of historic properties across Scotland has “unacceptable weaknesses” in its leadership, with a report also claiming it does not have “sufficiently robust policies” in place to mitigate the risk of fraud.

A damning report from the Auditor General for Scotland, Stephen Boyle, also said allegations of a “toxic workplace culture” at Historic Environment Scotland (HES) “need to be fully investigated and addressed”.

HES chairman Sir Mark Jones accepted the “serious governance issues and cultural problems identified”.

He spoke about the “impact of recent leadership instability” – with the report claiming it is “unacceptable” the organisation operated without an accountable officer for almost six months, between May 2 and October 20 this year, when chief executive Katerina Brown returned to work.

The Scottish Government, who had been notified of the absence, “should have appointed a substitute accountable officer when the extended absence of the chief executive and accountable officer became clear”, the report said.

It added: “This would have provided leadership and the necessary accountability within Historic Environment Scotland.”

This was one of a number of issues identified in a report which opposition politicians described as “scathing” and “very concerning”.

HES has just over 1,600 permanent staff and the report said more than 400 employees have “electronic purchasing cards” – with £1.9 million spent on these during 2024-25.

However compliance checks were only carried out on 8% of transactions on these each month, the report noted.

Controls on the use of these cards should be “strengthened to safeguard the use of public money”, the report suggested, adding the senior leadership team at HES should consider if “the organisation needs to operate as many electronic purchasing cards as it currently has”.

The report went on to highlight “issues” with expenses policy, saying almost half of trips involving foreign travel by staff had “not been appropriately authorised or the actual expenditure incurred exceeded the amount authorised”.

It also revealed HES board members had to pay back cash to the organisation after a leaving do in November 2024.

The invoice for the night out totalled £875 for a dinner attended by 11 people at a cost of £35 per person, with “most of the remainder” of the bill “being from the purchase of alcohol”.

After a review by the chief executive, HES was “reimbursed by board members for part of the bill, with the organisation bearing the costs relating to food”.

The report also states a project to move the HES archive collection to a new property, Archive House, has cost £2.9 million in the past two years – despite the project being cancelled in June 2024 due to “escalating costs and increasing timelines”.

A further £500,000 is also likely to be spent on the project until the lease break for the new property is reached in 2029, the report added.

HES has spent £536,151 a year extending the lease of its existing John Sinclair House property in Edinburgh – where its archive collection and library is currently housed – for another two years, the report added.

It also revealed that between March and November this year, HES reported eight personal data breaches to the Information Commissioner, with the report saying the “nature and volume of personal data breaches reflects the internal challenges that Historic Environment Scotland is currently experiencing”.

With the organisation receiving complimentary tickets to events at its venues – which include Edinburgh Castle – the report said there is “no policy in place covering the distribution of these tickets to ensure that they are distributed in an appropriate and transparent way”.

This, it added “is a very unusual circumstance for a Scottish public body”.

Overall, the report said there were “unacceptable weaknesses in the leadership, governance and use of resources within Historic Environment Scotland”.

The Auditor General for Scotland said he agrees with the “conclusion that the organisation is not able to demonstrate that arrangements are in place to deliver best value across all of its activities.

Mr Boyle said: “My report outlines unacceptable weaknesses in HES’s governance arrangements. It is critical that strong controls are now put in place to prevent the risk of fraud and demonstrate that value for money is being achieved.

“Historic Environment Scotland is navigating a period of significant instability and challenge, with a number of staff-related matters that need to be resolved.

“This includes allegations of a toxic workplace culture which needs to be fully investigated and addressed.”

Sir Mark meanwhile stressed that HES is “committed to rebuilding trust through strong governance, clear processes, and a culture of accountability”.

Scottish Conservative Stephen Kerr said: “This scathing report exposes the gross mismanagement of Historic Environment Scotland and the shocking lack of oversight from (Culture Secretary) Angus Robertson.”

He insisted Mr Robertson had been “missing in action as the quango he’s responsible for has descended into anarchy”.

Scottish Labour culture spokesman Neil Bibby also demanded answers from Mr Robertson, saying: “The findings outlined in this report are serious and very concerning, raising further questions about HES that must be answered.

“Angus Robertson should make it a priority to come before Parliament and explain why this situation arose, and why there was such apparent inaction by the Scottish Government to address the situation.”