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I should add that the CBA has expressed views broadly in line with what I sent earlier to the list (i.e. that DEFRA has a responsibility for supporting SMRs) in our response to the Haskins "Rural Delivery Review", which you can find online as follows: Covering letter at: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/conserve/rurdelv1.html Main Text at: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/conserve/rurdelv2.html One of the questions in the review asked for us to identify 3 main changes in rural delivery. The second of our top 3 priorities is perhaps worth restating on list, which was as follows: "B Putting Local Government historic environment information and advisory services on a statutory footing with adequate resources - including funding from DEFRA to invest in maintaining and improving delivery of information from historic environment records and provision of on-the-ground advice to farmers Reasons: * The only means of ensuring that adequate delivery of information and advice * Adequate information and advice is fundamental to principles of sustainability and informed conservation * Adequate information and advice represents a long term investment, the benefits of which in terms of environmental protection are likely to last far longer than the life time of individual schemes because it taps into basic willingness of many farmers to conserve their historic environment if they know what and where it is and they have some financial support and recognition for their efforts. " Best wishes Alex ____________________________________ Alex Hunt Research and Conservation Officer, Council for British Archaeology, Bowes Morrell House, 111 Walmgate, York, YO1 9WA Tel: 01904 671417 Fax: 01904 671384 Web: http://www.britarch.ac.uk ** Join CBA/YAC & buy CBA books through our online shop at www.britarch.ac.uk/shop ** _____________________________________