Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 June 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with the National Trust of Scotland regarding potential redundancies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what action it is taking to help save these jobs.
In response to a request from the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) for support to continue its operations, I suggested that it worked with Scottish Enterprise on the details of the case for support and agreed to meet the Trust. NTS indicated on 8 May that it was preparing to announce potential redundancies. It wrote to the Scottish Government on 11 May confirming its decision to put 429 of its staff at risk of redundancy, and announced the decision publicly on the same day.
I met with the National Trust on 15 May to discuss the financial impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak on its business, and the outcome of the early discussions with Scottish Enterprise on the case for Government support. In that meeting I questioned whether the Trust was making the maximum use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to mitigate redundancies. I also was clear that Scottish Government support would be difficult while the Trust was proposing to proceed with redundancy plans.
Following that meeting, a team from Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise has been asked to work with the NTS to explore its financial situation and provide recommendations which seek to ensure its long-term security while, as much as possible, protecting jobs and keeping properties open. This team held its first meeting with the NTS on 26 May.
We are committed to working with the Trust to explore the support measures necessary to ensure that it can carry on its valuable work, but are clear that any request for public funding needs to be focused on achieving maximum public value and must be accompanied by a clear case which demonstrates both the need for support and the public benefits that it will provide.