A top Edinburgh heritage boss has jetted off to the other side of the world for nine weeks while tourist landmarks across the country are still closed due to the company being in a financial crisis.
Donella Steel, finance director at Historic Environment Scotland, is reportedly combining work and leave 11,000 miles away from the body’s Edinburgh HQ in sunny New Zealand.
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The company which is based in Salsbury Place look after historic properties across the city, including Edinburgh Castle, Craigmillar Castle, Corstorphine Dovecot and Holyrood Abbey.
Lib Dem Finance spokesperson John Ferry said: “HES need to provide an urgent explanation as to what benefit taxpayers are getting from the finance director’s working holiday to New Zealand.
“Scotland should be proud of its heritage but on this Scottish Government’s watch more and more services are being slashed or left inaccessible to the public.”
But it was reported in the summer that 67 landmarks were fully or partially closed, including Dumbarton Castle, which was where William Wallace was taken after his capture in 1305.
The closures have caused frustration to history buffs and families eager to sample Scotland’s rich history. It is understood Steel’s New Zealand trip was scheduled to start in late October, taking in Christmas and ending in early January.
A minority of the weeks are believed to have been pencilled in for work, with the remaining time covered by annual leave and public holidays.
A source said: “Nobody else would even think about asking for this, but while an economic meltdown is happening our Finance Director is allowed to go on holiday and work overseas.”
According to the Scottish Government’s latest spending review, HES is in line for deep spending cuts and will have to make difficult financial decisions.
The quango’s budget stands at £61m this year but is projected to fall to £48m by 2026.
The HES closure list reported in the summer included gems such as St Andrews Cathedral, Arbroath Abbey, Linlithgow Palace and Dunfermline Abbey, where Robert the Bruce was laid to rest.
HES told the Record there are currently 44 “year round” sites with no visitor or significantly reduced access.
Tory MSP Sharon Dowey said: “It’s extraordinary that a public official should be given this amount of leave to be on the other side of the world while Historic Environment Scotland’s finances are in such a desperate state.
“Earlier this year, a record number of buildings managed by HES were closed to the public, with a devastating impact on hospitality and tourism businesses that depend on the draw of Scotland’s cultural heritage. Money was so tight that the organisation was talking about having to ‘accept the natural process of decay’ in some of Scotland’s historic sites.
“At a time when the SNP Government is imposing £13 million of cuts on HES, there is a real danger that many sites and buildings will now never recover and simply disintegrate.”
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A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland (HES) said: “We are currently continuing, alongside many organisations, to operate a hybrid business model which provides staff with the flexibility to work within the office or remotely, subject to business requirements.
“In the case of the finance director, they are a New Zealand national who has travelled there for the first time since covid and all costs relating to them being based there for a short period of agreed leave and work are being met entirely by that individual and not by the organisation.
“Due to the time difference, core hours have been arranged to meet commitments here and full contracted total hours are being met with the rest taken as annual leave, which they have saved up over the course of the year.”
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