She said: “Today’s article in The Telegraph is part of continued speculation about the structure of the heritage sector. Every Government department has been reviewing the roles of arm’s length bodies and this includes the roles of the Heritage Lottery Fund and The National Heritage Memorial Fund (which are already administered by us as a single body). To that end, we have been working with DCMS and colleagues and have been providing detailed information about our role.

“Our priority is to secure the very best outcome for heritage, ensuring that Lottery funding continues to be available for a broad range of heritage projects - big and small - right across the UK. Heritage encompasses the natural heritage of wildlife and landscapes, people’s traditions and stories and not just the traditional built heritage.

“It is also important that lottery investment in heritage – which has been so transformational over the last 16 years – continues to be administered independently.

“No formal proposals have yet been made. Once they have, we look forward to discussing them with all those concerned. In the meantime, we would like to assure all our applicants that it is ‘business as usual’ and money set aside for any HLF project currently underway is absolutely safe. With £50m more to spend from 2012/13, it would be terrible if this speculation led people to abandon their plans to apply for our lottery funding.”

“We are also responsible for awarding grants for The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). NHMF acts as the Government’s ‘fund of last resort’ to save the most outstanding parts of our nation’s heritage at risk of loss as a memorial to those who have given their lives for the UK.

“Over the past 30 years, we have given more than £298m to help save treasures from the Staffordshire Hoard and Skokholm Island to the Flying Scotsman and Turner’s Blue Rigi. There is always very keen demand for its funding and its role is crucial.”

Notes to editors

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage.  HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK. 

HLF’s support for a broad range of heritage across the UK (as at 31 March 2009) includes:
- 21% of our funding invested in our natural heritage of landscape, wildlife and parks 30% of our funding invested in museums, libraries and archives 37% of our funding invested in the historic built environment 8% of our funding invested in the industrial, maritime and transport sector4% of our funding invested in community heritage including the local heritage of tradition and oral history

The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) – 30th Anniversary
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up thirty years ago to save the most outstanding parts of our national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. NHMF receives £10m per year in grant in aid. A diverse range of over 1,200 iconic objects and places have been safeguarded by the NHMF over the last 30 years, including:

• The Coenwulf Coin
• The Macclesfield Psalter
• The Mappa Mundi
• Mary Rose
• Flying Scotsman
• Tyntesfield
• The last surviving World War II destroyer, HMS Cavalier
• The personal archive of Siegfried Sassoon, WWI soldier, author and poet
• Skokholm Island, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Pembrokeshire
• Titian’s Diana and Actaeon
• Anthony d’Offay’s Collection
• Turner’s The Blue Rigi
• The Staffordshire Hoard
• Harold Pinter's Playscripts Archive
• Aerofilms Collection

Further information

Katie Owen or Alison Scott, HLF Press Office on 020 7591 6036/32.  Out of office mobile on 07973 613 820.