. • The key challenges facing the historic environment currently include funding and financial resilience, the rising costs of staffing, energy, goods, and services, the costs of repair, maintenance, and retrofitting, and skills and labour shortages, • Scottish Government can help us to meet these challenges and realise the mission and priorities of the new historic environment strategy by: o Providing appropriate levels of funding o Supporting a multi-year funding model for the sector o Promoting the integration of the historic environment in key government policy initiatives across the national performance framework as part of a holistic national response to national priorities o Recognising and promoting the ongoing need for capital maintenance of traditionally built stock across all sectors over the coming decades that is likely to expand rather than shrink o Increasing funding aimed at repair and retrofit of historic buildings and corresponding investment in skills pipeline to enable delivery o Supporting innovation, including opportunities for reform such as financial incentives and freedoms and revenue raising, and helping the sector to support itself better by enabling partnering, including dedicated practical support that provides expertise to smaller organisations.