The Committee recognises the creative and innovative responses to funding pressures across the UK cultural sector, including by National Lottery distributors, while calling for further action to address the imbalance in funding between London and the rest of the country.

The committee also highlights the importance of partnerships, outreach from national to smaller regional organisations, the impact of local government cuts and the digitisation of cultural heritage and national collections. The full report can be read on the Parliament website. 

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of HLF, gave written and oral evidence to the inquiry. He said:“HLF welcomes the publication of this report. We are pleased that the CMS  Committee has recognised the large proportion of funding we spend outside London, and that most of our decisions are taken locally as we strive to achieve a fair balance of funding across the UK.

“We are grateful to the committee for highlighting the value of participation in volunteering and outdoor activity as a way of improving mental health.

We are pleased the Committee was able to hear from and visit so many HLF-supported projects where people are working hard to make heritage more inclusive, welcoming and exciting. As we acknowledged in our written submission however, heritage must create a more diverse workforce and audience.  Tackling this issue remains a high priority for HLF because we believe every aspect of diversity matters.  Ensuring there are opportunities for everyone to be involved is not a cost for heritage but an asset — and we know there is more to do.”