Thursday 6 March 2008

Portable Antiquities Scheme to move to BM

Margaret Hodge was the answering minister in a parliamentary debate over the future of the Portable Antiquities Scheme yesterday, during which she revealed that the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council were negotiating with the British Museum with the aim that the scheme will eventually be run from there.

Margaret Hodge put on a less than fiery performance, first praising the success of the scheme to the heavens, then telling us we were lucky to have it at all. She managed to evade detailed questions about next month's Finds Liason Officer's 3 year contract renewals and what the move will mean for them by waffling, then came out with the following reminder;

"Every organisation that enjoys any benefits in the form of resources from the public purse should be consistently reviewing its processes and how it operates, and can, every year, eke out some savings."

30 million Stonehenge bypass inquiry anyone?

I also wonder if the PAS liason officers get to claim expenses of up to £250 without reciepts. Apparently there's eking, and there's eking..

Full transcript from this most excellent website...
Click on any ministers name to see their history, and how they voted on key issues in the past. You can even add your own comments to the debate. I love the internet. It's beginning to out the 'demos' back into democracy.

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