Following consultation, updated policy directions have been issued to the Heritage Lottery Fund in its role as a distributing body of National Lottery funds.
In response to the prioritisation of designated heritage and heritage at risk, the Government states that the ‘directions are not intended to exclude any types of heritage, as evidenced by the broad spectrum outlined in the footnote which includes natural and intangible heritage. Government also fully recognises that there are different types of designation and risks to heritage across the country at both the national and local levels.
Given wider considerations, and cognisant of the recent decline in lottery receipts, it is crucial that HLF give due consideration towards that which has been identified as most in need, either because of its recognised architectural, historic, archaeological or artistic interest, or because it is considered to be at risk. The proposed policy directions specifically do not refer to the formal Heritage at Risk registers, because it is acknowledged that there are risks to types of heritage other than those nationally designated’.
The response noted that respondents, including the Alliance, raised concerns around the application and grants processes. Some felt that the current application process is ‘burdensome’ and favours those who can afford professional advisors. They suggested that application requirements should be more proportionate to the scale of the project, so as not to exclude small and/or volunteer-led organisations with neither the in-house expertise nor resource to hire professional advisors.
In response the Government noted that in ‘early 2019, HLF will launch their new Strategic Funding Framework, which will be a simpler and more flexible funding offer with a single open programme for all types of heritage project. As part of this process, new application forms and guidance will be launched, which will have proportionate processes and requirements for the different levels of grants. Where appropriate, requirements for supporting documentation have been reduced. By making the whole application process simpler and more streamlined, this should improve the experience for all applicants regardless of the size of an organisation, and ensure that the application requirements are proportionate to the size of the grant being requested’.