A heritage body based in Aberystwyth has warned its workforce has almost halved over the past decade due to cuts, with some staff now “doubling up” and doing two jobs.
Christopher Catling, chief executive of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, gave evidence to the Senedd’s culture committee on 9 October.
Mr Catling, who came into post nearly a decade ago in 2015, explained that the commission - located at the National Library of Wales building - operates under a Royal Warrant to maintain an inventory of monuments in Wales.
He cautioned that the commission’s remit letter and key-performance indicators from the Welsh Government “don’t really address that core warrant duty”.
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Mr Catling warned of an assumption that worthy social objectives can be delivered as a byproduct, saying the commission has sought external funding for this purpose.
He said: “The social objectives are not funded by [the] Welsh Government to the same degree – quite honestly, our funding … pays for the salaries of our staff, it leaves very [little].”
Hayley Roberts, an international lawyer who is deputy chair of the Royal Commission, which received a 10.5 per cent cut in 2024/25, agreed the situation has worsened in the past decade.
Dr Roberts pointed to the commission’s written evidence, which warned of a near 50 per cent reduction in staff over 10 years causing “substantial reductions in service delivery.”
“We can’t do more with fewer staff and we can’t do the same things with less.” she said.
Mr Catling added that the commission’s costs have been rising at an “astonishing” rate, with fees for required cyber security certification jumping from £700 to £10,000.
He told the committee: “The way we’ve coped, I’m afraid, is simply by freezing posts as people have left the commission. We have not replaced them unless their role is so absolutely fundamental to our delivery that we have to.”
Mr Catling added: “A number of our staff are now doubling up and doing two jobs.
“Our governance manager is now our HR manager even though she has none of the qualifications or skills to do that job.
“Our procurement and operations manager is doubling up as our finance manager.”
Last month it was revealed that 24 jobs had been lost at the National Library of Wales as a result of funding cuts with staff “worried about workload and the library’s future”