17 December 1996

£116 Million goes to 1,540 Charities in England and Northern Ireland

1,540 charities throughout England and Northern Ireland were celebrating Christmas early today when they were awarded grants totalling £116 million by the National Lottery Charities Board. 1,432 groups in England shared £109.6 million and 108 groups in Northern Ireland shared £6.4 million.

The grants, awarded under the Board’s Health, disability and care programme, are to groups helping tackle the causes of poor health, promoting good health and care and empowering people with disabilities.

Among the organisations awarded grants today are the Down Syndrome Association, Age Concern, Alzheimer’s Disease Society, Arthritis Care and Cancer Relief MacMillan Fund, Meningitis Foundation, Carers National Association, Family Welfare Association, National Asthma Campaign, Citizen's Advice Bureaux, Talking Newspapers, The Samaritans and a number of hospice schemes and groups supporting carers.

The largest grant announced today is £616,318 to the Richard House Trust in London, to build and equip a hospice for children with life threatening illnesses. Among the smallest grants announced today is £1,500 to cover running costs for Arthritis Care in South east Belfast, which provides information, advice and social opportunities for people with arthritis.

David Sieff, Chairman of the Board, welcomed the announcement: "This is good news for the voluntary sector and for hundreds of people and communities in England and Northern Ireland. I am delighted that we have been able to award grants to so many excellent projects working in the important fields of health, disability and care."

Stella Clarke, Chair of the England grant making committee, explained who the grants will help: "The grants announced today will benefit people of all ages with a range of medical conditions and disabilities and also people who are carers, offering them respite and support. Among those to benefit are people who are visually impaired, deaf, elderly, those with Alzheimer's Disease, arthritis, cancer, MS, asthma, epilepsy and mental ill health.

This view was supported by the Director for England, Janet Paraskeva who said: "We make grants to groups helping some of the most vulnerable people in society; in this grants round the focus is on helping people with ill health, disabilities and those caring for sick friends and relatives. I am pleased that we have again made many grants at a local level which will improve the quality of life in communities throughout England. Nearly 25 per cent of the projects funded have incomes of less than £5,000 a year. I look forward to the successful implementation of these excellent projects."

Grants announced today bring the total number of grants awarded in England to date to 4,840 worth £343 million and the total number of grants awarded in Northern Ireland to 405 worth £19.6 million.