Publication Scheme
About this publication scheme
As a public-facing body, we are committed to making information readily available and easy to understand. Information that is on our website is hyperlinked in this document.
If you are after information not covered in this publication scheme you can make a Freedom of Information request. The Freedom of Information Act requires us to produce a Publication Scheme. The publication scheme is a document that describes the information we routinely publish, where you can find it, and whether we charge for it. It is not a list of our publications: it describes the kinds of information we publish.
Who we are and what we do
The National Lottery – and with it Lottery funding for good causes like heritage, the arts, sport and charities – was established in 1994.
Responsibility for the UK-wide distribution of National Lottery proceeds allocated to heritage was given to the Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). The Lottery-distribution arm of NHMF became known as The National Lottery Heritage Fund (also known as the Heritage Fund).
Today we are a non-departmental public body accountable to Parliament via the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This means that, although we are not a government department, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport issues financial and policy directions to us, and we report to Parliament through the department. Our decisions about individual grant applications and our policies are entirely independent of the Government.
Under our Heritage 2033 strategy, we provide National Lottery Heritage Grants, which we use to fund the full breadth of heritage in the UK and help heritage organisations to thrive.
We operate across the UK with offices in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We have offices in England that work in the South East, South West, London, East of England, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, North East and North West.
Each of our countries and areas across the UK is led by a Director and a Head of Investment and Head of Engagement in their Area/Country. They are also responsible for outreach and other activities in their nation or area, and make decisions on grant requests up to £250,000.
Our Executive Team oversees our day-to-day activities and makes sure our strategic framework is implemented. The Executive Team is chaired by our Chief Executive, Eilish McGuinness.
How we make decisions
Grants of over £5million and in relation to our UK-wide campaigns are made by our Board of Trustees. Grants between £250,000 and £5million are delegated to our UK-wide Committees. Grants below £250,000 are delegated to Heads of Investment for each country and area.
Schedule of decisions and minutes from our Board of Trustees and our Committees and Heads of Region are published on our website 20 working days after the meeting took place.
The application guidance for each request level lists the criteria and outcomes that a project will be judged against.
What we spend and how we spend it
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) is a fund of last resort to save items of outstanding importance to the nation’s heritage that are either at risk or possess a marked memorial character. The Heritage Fund is given grant aid by central government in order to create a memorial to those who have given their lives for the United Kingdom.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the lottery-distribution arm of the NHMF.
Information on grants we have made can be found here. We have also published Open Data on our grants.
Information on tenders, contracts over £10,000, invoice payment statistics and senior staff expenses
What our priorities are and how we are doing
As the largest funder for the UK’s heritage, our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.
Our annual accounts include information about the range of heritage we have helped to save throughout the years
Our policies and procedures.
The following policies and procedures are available on our website:
Lists and registers
We publish our Trustees and Committee Members interests. Our annual accounts include any related party transactions that have taken place over the year.
The services we offer.