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As part of the development of the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was set up by the National Lottery Act 1993 to give grants to a wide range of projects involving the local, regional, and national heritage of the United Kingdom. The HLF distributes a share (determined by the government, currently 18 percent) of the money raised by the National Lottery for “good causes.” The trustees currently have three core aims for HLF, which define in broad terms how they are trying to improve quality of life through the heritage. These are to:

 conserve the UK’s diverse heritage for present and future generations to experience and enjoy;

 help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about their heritage;

 help people to learn about their own and other people’s heritage.

At the beginning there was a reluctance to either define “heritage” or lay out clear aims and objectives. Its emphasis focused on conservation, and particularly the conservation of historic buildings and their contents. But in addition to eventually agreeing on these aims – which are as good a summary of New Labour policy toward the heritage as you are likely to find – the government issues HLF with policy directions under the 1993 Act. The current directions took effect in 2008. As before, these are matters “to be taken into account” when distributing money.⁴ They include:

 asking HLF to assess the needs of the heritage when deciding upon priorities;

 involving the public in making policies, setting priorities, and distributing money;

 increasing access and participation;

 inspiring children and young people;

 fostering initiatives that bring people together;

 supporting and encouraging volunteering;

 encouraging skills development; and

 reducing economic and social deprivation.

The HLF has to report back to government on these policy directions, detailing how they are addressing them, evidenced by statistics where applicable. A brief summary of HLF responses may be found in the HLF Annual Reports.