SNH reveals millions of pounds of savings
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has made savings of around £20 million over the past five years.
The savings were outlined by SNH chief executive, Ian Jardine, in a letter this week to Highland Councillor, George Farlow.
The letter follows a number of newspaper articles in which Cllr Farlow calls for SNH to follow the council’s lead in making savings at senior management level.
In his letter, Mr Jardine explained: “SNH is acutely aware of the pressures on public sector funding.
"Our budget from Scottish Government has reduced by £7m in the past three years alone.
"In order to help to accommodate this and maintain services we have indeed been making efficiencies, and over the past five years these have amounted to savings of around £20 million.
“We have made significant reductions in our governance and senior management that, proportionately, exceed those at the front line.
"We replaced our three areas boards with a small network of local advisers and have now discontinued those posts too.
“The SNH Board was reduced from 12 members to nine. Our senior management team has reduced from five directors to three and our area managers from eleven to seven.
“We continue to operate with both a chief executive and a chairperson and there is still plenty for us both to do.
"The principle of having executive day to day authority and non-executive oversight is a pretty fundamental one.”
Mr Jardine endorsed Cllr Farlow’s concerns about the need for organisations to trim costs.
He acknowledged the progress that The Highland Council has made in this respect and added that SNH is very happy to learn from others.
