Press Release - Heritage Lottery Fund
16 March 2007
The Heritage Lottery Fund has successfully supported projects
which help preserve the UK’s heritage and make it more accessible,
according to a new report published today by the National Audit
Office.
The NAO report examines the funding of heritage projects since
1994 and the effectiveness of the Fund’s grant-making processes. In
awarding £3.8 billion of lottery funding to 24,000 projects, the
Fund has supported projects delivering a range of benefits, such as
restoring and conserving heritage assets, providing new facilities
and opportunities for learning and access, and creating greater
public awareness and involvement in heritage.Its robust processes
have led to better, more sustainable projects but it now needs to
do more to promote swifter delivery of heritage projects and
provide better support to applicants and grant recipients.
Most projects have been delivered to cost, according to the
report. However 17 per cent of completed projects have gone
over-budget by an average £293,000 and 6 per cent have
received an average £176,000 of additional grant to help meet cost
increases. And although many projects have been delivered on time,
around a quarter (26 per cent) have been delivered late – with half
of these taking an additional six months or longer. Overruns,
according to the report, have mainly been the result of
unanticipated events during construction and poor planning, as well
as a lack of project management skills by some
applicants.
The Fund’s grant-making processes are robust and practical but
more can be done to assist projects. Specific recommendations in
the report address reducing administrative burdens on applicants;
assessing applications more quickly; developing the support and
training offered to applicants, monitoring projects more closely as
they progress; and setting in place a system to share knowledge
between applicants. The Fund should now also review its approach to
partnership funding and continue to develop how it captures the
benefits arising out its grant-giving.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said
today:
“The Heritage Lottery Fund has done valuable work in
preserving the UK’s heritage and promoting access to it. However,
it needs to do more to simplify its procedures, to provide better
support to applicants and grant recipients and to reduce time and
cost overruns.”
Notes for Editors:
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 18/07
All enquiries to Neil Gadhok, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 7020
Mobile: 07917 940 746