Funding setback for Somerset's Wellington Monument. The National Trust should take advice from Scotland.

Take funding advice from Scotland.

"You have to admire the way our Scottish neighbours manage to extract finance from British institutions.  The Barnett formula enables the Scots to obtain more funds, per head, from the British Treasury than is given to the English.  That situation is mirrored by the Big Lottery Fund as the Scots receive £14.04 per head, the English £9.32.

In such circumstances it is hardly surprising that the National Trust failed, for the second time, in their application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the £2 million required to initiate much needed repairs to the Wellington Monument, that striking landmark on the Blackdown Hills (“Fund setback for West monument”, Western Daily Press, Oct 4) .  Perhaps the National Trust in England should ask its counterpart in Scotland for advice.  The Scots certainly seem to have the knack for obtaining money from British national institutions."

S.W., Ilminster, Somerset

The letter above was published in the Western Daily Press on October 13th.  Reading it and the Daily Mail article below (see link) illustrates how our neighbours in Scotland manage to extract what could be said to be more than their fair share of UK finance.  It seems that England always comes last in the queue, behind Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Scotland.  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4867000/Scots-win-lotto-English-charities-50-head.html