15 April 1997

National Lottery Charities Board welcomes the findings of the National Lottery Yearbook

The National Lottery Charities Board today welcomed the findings of the Directory of Social Change set out in their National Lottery Yearbook.

Published today, the Yearbook supports the work of the Board, saying: 'The NLCB has achieved more than just administrative competence. It has brought new levels of intelligence and rigour to the job of funding charities...It is generally succeeding in getting help to those at greatest disadvantage in society, and in the process, is strengthening the capacities of those parts of society to help themselves...Within the remit it has been given, the NLCB is doing a fine job.'

Timothy Hornsby, Chief Executive of the Board, accepted that the Yearbook raised effectively some of the issues that the Board itself is addressing. 'We are currently planning our future grant making strategy and looking carefully at assessment procedures, the possibility of changing the way we invite and approve grants and the extension of our Small grants scheme. The Board understands and is sympathetic to the concerns of unsuccessful applicants about feedback.

'We are encouraged by the comments made in the Yearbook. Our grants continue to seek to reach the parts of the voluntary sector which find it difficult to obtain funding. The geographical spread of our grants does reflect the diverse needs of the whole of the UK.'