Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Minutes of Evidence

Memorandum submitted by the Millennium Commission

1. This Memorandum is submitted at the request of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. It covers three broad issues:

1. plans for the Millennium Festival across the UK;
2. an account of how the projects funded by the Millennium Commission will contribute to the Millennium celebrations;
3. the Commission's role in relation to the Corporate Plan of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), recognising that the Experience at Greenwich is the centrepiece of the Commission's strategy for the Millennium Festival.

A. THE MILLENNIUM FESTIVAL IN THE UK

MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONS: GENERAL BACKGROUND

2. There will be extensive, wide ranging and varied celebrations throughout the UK to mark the passing of the second Millennium and the beginning of the third. Whilst New Year's Eve 1999 will be a focus for celebrations, it is already clear that events and activities associated with the Millennium will take place earlier and very many will continue later, throughout the Year 2000 and into the Year 2001. Most individuals, homes and communities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can be expected to get involved in these celebrations to a greater or lesser extent and in most localities there will be a civic dimension. Either in conjunction or in parallel with this, there will be wide-ranging events and activities centred around religious faith. Almost all of this will happen freely and independently, without any guidance, encouragement or support from the Millennium Commission.

3. The issue for the Millennium Commission therefore has been how to ensure that some of the plans for more deeply rooted Festival events in localities across the UK can proceed--that is, those that include more than locally-funded parties and have the potential for widespread appeal and a memorable legacy. This is not to say that the Commission has ruled out entertainment or fun as an ingredient of Festival events, more that it seeks to balance that by encouraging themes or activities which capture the imagination and have the capacity to inform and inspire.

BACKGROUND: THE MILLENNIUM COMMISSION'S STRATEGY

4. In March 1994 the Commission decided that as a matter of policy it might wish to fund Millennium celebrations, including a possible national festival. A broad strategy for the Commission to discharge its remit was proposed in a major speech given by its founding Chairman (the Rt Hon Peter Brooke CH MP) on 22 June 1994. The strategy had four elements of funding--capital projects of national or regional significance, capital projects of more local impact, Millennium bursaries and a possible Millennium Festival in the Year 2000. The Chairman said that before a decision was made on the latter element the Commission would consider whether the public would respond with the enthusiasm that had greeted the 1851 Great Exhibition and the Festival of Britain in 1951.

5. The Commission carried out two separate public consultation exercises to gauge public reactions to the Festival proposals. The first (in 1995) proposed procedures for choosing the location and shape of a centrepiece National Exhibition and invited suggestions for the themes and content of the Exhibition. This was the beginning of the decision process leading to the selection and funding of the New Millennium Experience at Greenwich and a fuller account of it is given in the Commission's written evidence submitted to the Select Committee on 13 October 1997. The second consultation exercise was carried out in early 1997 and concerned the Commission's proposals for supporting Festival activities across the UK.

6. The Festival consultation paper suggested that the UK be divided in 12 Areas (based on Economic Planning Regions), in which teams would be set up to coordinate the Festival, preparing a bid for a share of the £20 million budget. Area Teams would act as the focus for millennium celebrations, and generate cooperative partnerships between local authorities, public bodies, businesses, community groups, and individual citizens. It was also suggested that a different Area would be highlighted in turn for each month of the Year 2000 and feature a centrepiece event in that Area at a landmark project already supported by the Millennium Commission. The consultation paper also suggested the type of activities which the Commission might encourage and support, activities which

• the public will enjoy and feel are worthwhile;
• will help to bring communities together, while reflecting religious, ethnic and cultural diversity;
• are both educational and entertaining;
• and engage as many people as possible in actively celebrating the millennium.

7. Comments, ideas or suggestions in writing were invited from individuals or organisations by February 1997. Copies were sent to al MPs and all local authorities at district level, to the local authority associations, other Lottery distributors, Government Departments, arts bodies, sports bodies, tourist boards and organisations, heritage organisations, the entertainment industry, the police, churches, voluntary organisations, plus an extensive list of individuals and groups who had requested Festival details.

8. Some 500 responses were received, many from umbrella organisations representing wide memberships. The overwhelming majority were in favour of the Commission's stated aspirations for the Festival, especially the importance of involving as many people as 7possible, but many felt that a budget of £20 million was insufficient to generate a proper nationwide Festival. A majority also thought that the Commission's suggestion that there should be a monthly rotating focus on Areas of the UK should be dropped and the idea of Area teams reconsidered.

9. In giving views on what types of activity should be encouraged, most of the respondents made suggestions and proposals for enhancing existing events and stressed that legacy considerations should be part of the criteria for funding. Respondents commonly suggested that the application process should be simple, that Lottery Distributors should cooperate efficiently where more than one funding pocket was inevitable and that any rules on 'matched funding' should not be onerous.

10. The ideas for events and activities emerging from the consultation could be grouped broadly as follows:

  Spiritual:  primarily Christian, commemorative events

  History:  mainly oral history projects and pageants

  Arts:  community involvement was highlighted

  International links:

  Youth:

  Sports:

  Environmental sustainability:

  Education:  particularly IT related

  Other:  including proposals aimed at Ethnic Minorities; and Science & technology-related.

More details of the consultation results are given at Annex A.

11. Generally, the responses 7to the consultation revealed enthusiasm for a Festival programme and a wealth of ideas for events, projects and activities. Many cut across the responsibilities of the different Lottery Distributors, embracing elements of the arts, sports, heritage, and charitable endeavour. This confirmed what other Lottery distributors had already indicated to the Commission, ie that they too were expecting to receive applications for funding for Millennium-related events or activities in the Year 2000, were already planning initiatives of their own and saw benefit in closer coordination. At same time, NMEC was planning its own National Programme of events and activities around the UK in the run up to the Year 2000. In absence of cross-distributor coordination there was the danger of fragmentation or duplication of initiatives and, potentially, complication and confusion for the public. Moreover, the other Distributors, unlike the Commission and NMEC, have a long term role beyond the Millennium and are therefore able to appraise and link Festival proposals within their existing programmes--this is likely to ensure a greater legacy impact.

12. The various Lottery bodies and NMEC therefore developed a collaborative scheme in the latter part of 1997 and early 1998. Joint working on this scale had not been hitherto attempted and the Lottery distributors were positive and constructive in making a joint scheme for the Millennium possible. The result--the Millennium Festival Fund was announced by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and the Sport on 27 February 1998. This is described below.

THE MILLENNIUM FESTIVAL FUND

13. The Millennium Festival Fund is an initiative to encourage and support celebratory activities, events, programmes and projects throughout the UK in the year 2000 which aim to be high quality and have widespread appeal. Non-profit bodies will normally be entitled to apply.

14. In essence, the Festival Fund will be application driven, responding to proposals generated locally or, in some cases, by national organisations planning activities across the UK or the whole of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. It is envisaged that applications will be for celebrations of wide-ranging types and sizes, for example for single purpose events such as local arts or sports festivals, history pageants or community schemes based on charitable endeavour, or for composite programmes, including different types of programme throughout the 2000. The precise nature of applications is not prejudged.

15. The Millennium Festival Fund is a collaborative arrangement, bringing together and drawing on the resources of 13 organisations in the UK:

• The National Heritage Memorial Fund
• The Millennium Commission
• The National Lottery Charities Board
• The Arts Council of England
• The Arts Council of Northern Ireland
• The Scottish Arts Council
• The Arts Council of Wales
• The English Sports Council
• The Sports Council of Northern Ireland
• The Scottish Sports Council
• The Sports Council for Wales
• The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC)
• The Northern Ireland Millennium Company

16. The contribution of NMEC to the Festival Fund will be in the form of securing and brokering private sponsorship for Festival schemes, as well as organising the distribution of proposal forms and running 'one-stop shops' to provide information throughout the UK, as described later in this section.

17. The Fund comprises up to £100m, distributed across the UK as follows:-

• England    £ 78.9*
• Scotland    £ 10.4
• Wales      £ 6.3
• Northern Ireland  £ 4.4
  • £100.00m

•   *including costs of marketing and 'one-stop shops'--throughout the UK.

18. There are no allocations or quotas for sub-areas in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, although the aim is to achieve a fair spread of Festival funding. The ultimate spread of awards made will however depend on the quality and type of applications made.

19. Awards from the Festival Fund are being made in two separate tranches depending on project size, ie

1. Larger Awards (i.e. above £5,000); the application round is in 1998 (see below for details). Proposal forms and guidance notes have already been issued.
2. Smaller Awards (i.e. below £5,000): the application round will start in early 1999, using different forms and procedures. Further details will be announced in autumn 1998.

20. No firm decisions have been taken on how the total Festival Fund will be divided between the two tranches (ie Larger and Smaller Awards), although it is anticipated that the first tranche will receive the higher proportion.

THE ROLE OF MILLENNIUM FESTIVAL COMMITTEES

21. The 11 Lottery Distributors, NMEC and the Northern Ireland Millennium Company coordinate their actions in relation to the Millennium Festival at 4 separate joint meetings--one each in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are called 'Millennium Festival Committees', are advisory only and do not take decisions on individual proposals or applications for festival funding--those decisions will be taken by each Lottery Distributor.

22. The role of each Millennium Festival Committee is to advise Lottery bodies, NMEC and the Northern Ireland Millennium Company on:

1. strategic funding priorities and themes for the Millennium Festival Fund.
2. coordination of festival celebrations, by
   1. encouraging a fair distribution of Festival funding;
   2. identifying gaps in geographic spread of awards or kinds of activity supported;
   3. identifying and seeking to discourage duplication of activities.
3. promotion, branding and communication of the Festival.
4. monitoring the efficiency and smoothness of operation of the Festival Fund as a whole and making recommendations on ways to improve its administration, where necessary.

LARGER AWARDS: THE PROPOSAL AND APPLICATION PROCESS

23. Throughout the UK, the application process for Larger Awards is two stage. First, potential applicants must submit a short form summarising their proposals and giving outline details about themselves. They will then be issued with the relevant, more detailed application form for consideration by a Lottery Distributor. Final decisions on Festival funding will be based on the detailed information supplied. Proposal forms began being issued in May 1998.

24. The timetable, criteria and size of awards are outlined at Annex B.

25. The application process has been designed to make it as easy as possible for people to apply, recognising always that systems must be sufficiently robust to safeguard Lottery funds. Whilst the aspiration of many applicants for relatively small sums of money for a less constrained, less detailed and simpler application process cannot be met, three major steps have been taken to smooth the process:

1. 'one-stop shops': information on the Festival Fund can be obtained from NMEC Festival staff at offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and at regional offices throughout England, no matter what the nature of their proposals. In addition NMEC has set up a national Festival Helpline on 0870 600 1999. This does not rule out enquiries being made direct to the Lottery bodies but the existence of a 'one-stop shop' locally should make it easier for potential applicants to get information across the whole canvas;
2. single proposal form: a single, simple, proposal form has been designed which covers the areas of responsibility of all Lottery distributors and NMEC. This will allow a preliminary view to be taken about the scheme, so that the applicant can be steered towards the relevant Lottery Distributor. Proposal forms are obtained from and returned by post to one single point in the UK, managed by NMEC on behalf of all the participating bodies. The telephone hotline for obtaining a proposal form is 0870 600 2000.
3. single source of Lottery funding: based on the information provided in their proposal, potential applicants will be sent a detailed application form directly relevant to them. As a matter of principle, each application will be appraised and determined by a single Lottery distributor and so applicants will not have to deal with more than one. Any application cutting across the boundaries of two or more Lottery Distributors will be sent to the Millennium Commission for decision and the Commission will consult other Distributors on those cases.

26. Initial indications are that there is a great deal of interest in the Festival Fund. Up to 4 June 1998, about 5,500 sets of proposal forms and guidance notes had been dispatched.

THE NEXT STAGE: SMALLER AWARDS

27. The application round for Smaller Awards--those up to £5,000--will be run in 1999. Further details on the funding criteria and application process will be announced in the Autumn to help potential applicants begin their planning. The application round will open in early 1999.

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Prepared 12 August 1998