A heritage body warned its workforce sees some staff now “doubling up” and doing two jobs because of cuts.

Christopher Catling, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales' chief executive, gave evidence to the Senedd’s culture committee on October 9.

Mr Catling, who started the post in 2015, warned of an assumption that worthy social objectives can be delivered as a by-product, 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, international lawyer and deputy chair of the Royal Commission, which received a 10.5 per cent cut in 2024/25, pointed to the commission’s written evidence, which warned of a near 50 per cent reduction in staff over 10 years.

“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 cyber security certification fees jumping from £700 to £10,000.

He said: “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.”

Looking to the future, he said: “It will mean change and it will mean probably doing less than we currently do but doing it differently.”

Asked about cooperating with Cadw, he told the committee: “We have worked really hard at that and we’ve never identified a single saving. Our organisations – all of us – are working to the bone.”

Lee Waters MS said he struggled to understand that there are no savings to be made across heritage organisations.

Mr Catling hit back at his line of questioning and Mr Waters replied: “I’m simply challenging some of your evidence that there aren’t functions you could share.”

Asked about an extra £90,000 announced by the Welsh Government, Mr Catling said six staff have been hired for six months to work on vital projects.