17 August 1998

Rt. Hon. Chris Smith re-appoints Tom Jones

Culture Secretary, Chris Smith has announced the re-appointment of Tom Jones to the National Lottery Charities Board until 25 July 2000. He has also been re-elected by the Board in Wales as the Chair of the Wales Committee.

Tom Jones, OBE, is a farmer at Dolanog near Welshpool and a member of both the Countryside Council for Wales and the European 5B Monitoring Committee. He is a former director of the Agricultural Training Board, past president of the Young Farmers Clubs of Wales and former member of the S4C television authority. Aged 48, he is married to a GP and has three children. He is also the author of two Welsh language books ‘Dyddiadur Ffarmwr’ and ‘Brain yn y Brwyn’.

During Tom Jones’ previous chairmanship, the Charities Board distributed 1,500 grants in Wales totalling over £48 million. Included in these awards are the Small grants which were piloted in Wales and which aim to reach communities across Wales with grants from £500 to £5,000. Due to the success of the pilot, from this summer, the scheme has been extended throughout the UK.

Tom Jones said, "I am delighted to be re-appointed at such an exciting time for Lottery Distributors in Wales. The Lottery Act passed last month has given us the direction to plan ahead and to co-ordinate to a greater extent on all levels with all the other Lottery Distributors. The Charities Board Wales has distributed over 1,500 grants to date but we know that there are about 23,000 voluntary and charitable groups in Wales, most of these having an income of less than £15,000 a year. There is no danger of complacency then as we strive to reach out to the many groups that have not yet benefited from Charities Board funding. It is therefore fitting that I take my re-appointment to the Board and re-election as Chair as a renewed challenge to ensure that the Charities Board addresses the needs of disadvantaged people and communities all across Wales."

The Director for Wales, Roy Norris and the team of 17 full-time staff are based in the Charities Board office in Newtown. The three other Board Members in Wales are June Churchman, Elisabeth Watkins and Alan Higgins.

Voluntary, charitable and community groups seeking application forms or further information on any of the Charities Board’s grant programmes should call 0345 273273.