§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures are being taken to ensure an equitable distribution of lottery funds to museums and galleries across the United Kingdom. [11701]
§ Mr. BanksThe national lottery distributing bodies have already announced awards worth over £465 million to museums and galleries throughout the country, notably through the Heritage Lottery Fund's major museum, library and archive projects programme which aims to achieve a good regional spread of major projects across the United Kingdom.
The White Paper "The People's Lottery", Cm3709, published on 21 July, makes clear the Government's objective that there should be more confidence that lottery money generally is allocated fairly and equitably in the light of need across all regions and parts of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to extend the use of heritage lottery funding in respect of museums and galleries projects. [11699]
§ Mr. BanksThe National Heritage Act 1997 will extend the powers of the trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and enable them to support a wider range of projects and applicants. The powers will open up new opportunities for the Heritage Lottery Fund to assist museum and gallery projects. The Heritage Lottery Fund is currently consulting on the use of the wider powers. We are considering implementation of the Act as part of our wider review of lottery distribution.