Local authorities - with honourable exceptions - have the worst reputation of all for neglecting historic buildings in their ownership. Statistically, a buildings is more likely to be at risk if it is in local authority ownership than if it is in private hands. There are many reasons for this, including political reluctance to sell off housing and the chronic failure of different departments to talk to each other, but one of the most common factors is the reluctance of councils to release buildings for anything less than the absolute highest value. They must be subject to the same guidelines as central government departments. These could be drafted easily by borrowing from the DCMS document. However support would have to come from the DETR, which would be the department to issue the new guidelines.

The 1993 Charities Act contained a very important provision. Previously, if charities were disposing of listed buildings they were required to sell them to the highest bidder. The '93 Act created the power for the Government to designate "Named Beneficiaries" - historic building charities to which other charities can gift listed buildings. In this way many churches and chapels will benefit, as the Churches Conservation Trust, the Friends of Friendless Churches and the Historic Chapels Trust have been made such named beneficiaries. However, the provision is still little known (the Charity Commission even denied to SAVE that it existed) and therefore little used. As a matter of urgency bodies such as the Landmark Trust, the National Trust, the Phoenix Trust and local Building Preservation Trusts should be made named beneficiaries to ensure that more historic buildings benefit from this important provision.