Dundee Heritage Trust

That the Parliament recognises that our industrial heritage is of interest to many people from other countries as well as Scots; notes with concern, however, that despite strenuous efforts and exploration of all possible funding opportunities, Dundee Heritage Trust, the charity which owns Dundee's leading tourist attractions, RRS Discovery and the Verdant Works, has been forced by a continuing and critical shortfall in revenue support into a series of cost-cutting exercises and staff redundancies, the latest being the loss of their very experienced and committed chief executive; recognises that the seriousness of this move cannot be underestimated and is a worrying indication that the closure of both Discovery Point and the Verdant Works may now be imminent; considers that the Scottish Executive should put in place a financial package with immediate effect and extend central revenue support as part of a longer term strategy to secure the future of these significant visitor attractions, both of which achieved five star grading by VisitScotland, with Dundee Heritage Trust being the only independent operator in Scotland to achieve this accolade, and notes that the loss of RRS Discovery, which gives the city of Dundee its "identity" and the Verdant Works, the last working jute mill in Scotland and European Industrial Museum of the Year in 1999, to the cultural heritage of the nation would be both significant and irreplaceable.