By Vivienne Russell
12 January 2010
Targets to increase visits to historic sites in England were ‘unrealistic’ and not well-thought-out, MPs have said.
A Public Accounts Committee report published today criticises the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s strategy to increase visits to English Heritage sites from three under-represented groups: people from ethnic minorities, poorer homes or with disabilities.
The department missed the targets in two of the three groups but did not know why, the PAC found. The DCMS had not conducted any research into how achievable the targets were, how they would be met or how any visitor increase to heritage sites would be measured.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said an ‘impressive’ proportion of the UK population – 70% - already visited English Heritage sites.
‘Most of the people who don’t visit said that they are not interested in doing so. It is hard to see what useful purpose was achieved by setting targets to increase visits from this or that under-represented group,’ he said.
‘There was certainly no point in the department setting targets to widen participation when it did not know how achievable they were, had little understanding of the different factors affecting participation and had no way of measuring the impact of its own actions on those of English Heritage.’
Leigh added that a better way of boosting interest in historic visits would be to target efforts on children and reverse the decline in free educational visits.
‘A crucial factor in developing a lifelong interest in historic sites is to be taken to see them as a child,’ he said.
12 January 2010
Targets to increase visits to historic sites in England were ‘unrealistic’ and not well-thought-out, MPs have said.
A Public Accounts Committee report published today criticises the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s strategy to increase visits to English Heritage sites from three under-represented groups: people from ethnic minorities, poorer homes or with disabilities.
The department missed the targets in two of the three groups but did not know why, the PAC found. The DCMS had not conducted any research into how achievable the targets were, how they would be met or how any visitor increase to heritage sites would be measured.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said an ‘impressive’ proportion of the UK population – 70% - already visited English Heritage sites.
‘Most of the people who don’t visit said that they are not interested in doing so. It is hard to see what useful purpose was achieved by setting targets to increase visits from this or that under-represented group,’ he said.
‘There was certainly no point in the department setting targets to widen participation when it did not know how achievable they were, had little understanding of the different factors affecting participation and had no way of measuring the impact of its own actions on those of English Heritage.’
Leigh added that a better way of boosting interest in historic visits would be to target efforts on children and reverse the decline in free educational visits.
‘A crucial factor in developing a lifelong interest in historic sites is to be taken to see them as a child,’ he said.
