22nd February 2009, 02:20 PM
We may all be 'missing' the point. Archaeology is something you can afford when the economy is good under the current system - many will remember the days before PPG15 and 16. It wasn't called Rescue archaeology for nothing. There is a real risk that to push the economy, the planning process will be 'truncated' and rather than see decent evals and excavations, we will see more watching briefs - lets drive those infrastrcuture projects forward!
The other points that are not being highlighted are those freelance specialists who are leaving the profession as the work is drying-up and those contract staff on short-term contracts who have not had them renewed; these do not count as redundancies. In terms of academia, this will only begin to be severely effected when applications for places go down, notably graduate places. Afterall, they generate more income for departments than undergraduates. Museums are an easy target for authorities etc and will see the impact sooner than the universities - it all depends on the funding stream.
The other points that are not being highlighted are those freelance specialists who are leaving the profession as the work is drying-up and those contract staff on short-term contracts who have not had them renewed; these do not count as redundancies. In terms of academia, this will only begin to be severely effected when applications for places go down, notably graduate places. Afterall, they generate more income for departments than undergraduates. Museums are an easy target for authorities etc and will see the impact sooner than the universities - it all depends on the funding stream.