Last December, Audit Scotland highlighted “unacceptable” governance and financial management at the country’s scandal-hit heritage body after it was rocked by a series of controversies.

This included a senior leader being sanctioned after allegedly “twerking” in front of actor Martin Compston at an Edinburgh Castle event.

Chief executive Katerina Brown was suspended following an investigation into her conduct, and the organisation operated without a chief executive or accountable officer for almost six months of the year.

Mrs Brown later left her role in September.

Issues were also raised regarding the use of some 400 electronic purchasing cards, with one in every four members of staff possessing one.

The body also faced allegations of corruption and an internal racism row.

Sir Mark Jones, the former chairman of the organisation, which maintains more than 300 historic sites across the country and is funded through Scottish Government grant-in-aid, resigned less than a year into the role in July.

The sites include Dumbarton Castle, Stirling Castle and premier tourist attraction Edinburgh Castle.

On Thursday, Audit Scotland issued an update finding that HES has taken action to address its organisational weaknesses, but “more work is needed”.

‘More work needed’

Auditor General Stephen Boyle, pictured right, said in an update that the organisation has reviewed its procurement practices, electronic purchasing card and expenses policies and audited its arrangements for ticket allocation, gifts, and hospitality.

Mr Boyle was the author of a report which astonishingly gave West Dunbartonshire Council a good report despite heavy press and public criticism of its performance in recent years.

The HES report has put in place a register of interests for the executive leadership team.

However, he underlined that the Edinburgh-based organisation needs to do more work to fully implement and embed new policies and the required improvements “at pace”.

Mr Boyle said: “Historic Environment Scotland has taken action to investigate and begin to address the weaknesses I reported on in 2025.

“However, ongoing leadership instability, along with other challenges, has had an impact on improvements being put in place.

“It’s now important that my recommendations, and those of the independent review, are fully implemented at pace by HES.”

HES said the report shows “progress has been made”, but changes still need to be implemented.

They added that HES will conduct an independent review of its structure, efficiency, and culture in the New Year.

Ronnie Hinds, interim chair of Historic Environment Scotland, said: “This report reflects a year of important achievements alongside significant organisational challenges.

“Those achievements reflect the expertise and commitment of our staff, but they do not diminish the concerns about governance and leadership. The highest standards of accountability and conduct must match our public responsibilities.

“The auditor general recognises that progress has been made, but some changes still need to be fully implemented and shown to be operating consistently.

“The board has accepted all the recommendations of our independent organisational and cultural review and agreed a plan for their implementation.