Heritage
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS involvement with this sector covers responsibility for the identification, conservation and enhancement of the historic environment in England.
The Department has set five specific tasks for achieving its ambition of unlocking the full potential of historic assets:
- providing leadership
- realising educational potential
- including and involving people
- protecting and sustaining the historic environment
- optimising its economic potential
English Heritage seeks to ensure that the historic environment of England is properly maintained and cared for. It aims to help people understand and appreciate why the historic buildings and landscapes around them matter and wants every important historic site to get the care and attention it deserves. Government Offices work with English Heritage on statutory planning issues and regeneration policy.
The mission of the Heritage Lottery Fund is to improve the quality of life by safeguarding and enhancing the heritage of buildings, objects and the environment of the UK. Since its inception, the National Lottery has raised over £2,700 million, an average of more than £300 million each year, to support national heritage projects, which include land and countryside, parks, historic buildings and sites, museum collections, archives, and industrial, transport and maritime heritage.
Museums, Libraries and Archives
DCMS works with the Department for Education and Skills and a number of other bodies to take a strategic role in the museums sector. A culture funding package to assist England's museums and galleries was launched in December 2004, and will run for three years. This includes a 50 per cent increase in funding for regional museums, to continue the roll out of the ‘Renaissance in the Regions’ programme.
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council advises government on policy and priorities for the sector. It works at the local level on cultural, social, educational and economic issues. Its role is to provide strategic leadership to act as a powerful advocate, to develop capacity and to promote innovation and change. These partnerships have been established to take forward priorities in each region.
