England Big Briefing
Welcome to Big Briefing. In this edition we update you on how, across the country, Big Lottery Fund (BIG) investments are helping people make a difference on the issues that matter most to them. In this Big Briefing we:
- Provide details of the £35 million Forces in Mind Trust – a partnership of forces’ charities and mental health organisations that over the next 20 years will bring vital support to thousands of former UK military personnel and their families to help them re-integrate into civilian life.
- Highlight recently announced awards trhough our Improving Futures programme, totalling £15.2m across the UK for 17 ground-breaking projects to help transform the life chances of young children growing up in very difficult family circumstances.
There are also links to current funding programmes and awards made in your area as well some of the inspiring stories that illustrate how people have used Lottery funding in your region.
I hope you find the briefing helpful. You can keep bang up to date by following @biglotteryfund or me personally @peterwanless on Twitter.
Peter Wanless
Chief Executive, Big Lottery Fund
Funding programmes open to your constituents
You can use our Funding Finder to search for funding programmes that are available for your constituents, while our grants search will allow you to find projects that have been funded in your constituency.
Forces in Mind
BIG recently announced the formal launch of its £35 million Forces in Mind Trust (FIMT) - a partnership of forces’ charities and mental health organisations that over the next 20 years will bring vital support to thousands of former UK military personnel and their families to help them re-integrate into civilian life.
The timing of the announcement was scheduled to coincide with the film premiere of Steven Spielberg’s War Horse in London on 8th January. The premiere was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in aid of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. We are very pleased that The Foundation announced it too would support our Forces in Mind Trust, and will back the Trust with its own grants over a three-year programme, as well as helping raise awareness of the issues facing veterans.
Our ambitions for the Trust which is being delivered by a partnership led by the Confederation of Service Charities (COBSEO) are to improve fundamentally the way in which services are developed and delivered in support of veterans and their families. The Trust will deliver improved partnership working between service, ex-service and other relevant organisations to provide more integrated, flexible support. This is an approach which the veterans’ sector wholly supports.
The Trust will focus on addressing the mental health issues that former forces personnel can experience when returning to civilian life,which at their extreme can include a range of issues such as post traumatic stress disorder, social exclusion, family trauma, suicide, and substance misuse.
Improving Futures
BIG recently announced awards totalling £17.9m across the UK for 20 ground-breaking projects to help transform the life chances of young children growing up in very difficult family circumstances.
These are the first awards from BIG’s Improving Futures programme, which will provide up to £26 million for more joined-up and earlier support to families with multiple and complex problems.
BIG’s backing will see families being offered tailored support from local voluntary sector organisations working in partnerships with public services. Each partnership will receive up to £900,000 over three to five years to work with families whose eldest children are aged five to ten years old. Around 8,000 families will benefit from this round of awards.
Peter Ainsworth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund said: “The focus of this programme is firmly on the children. They don’t choose the families or circumstances they are born into, but adult issues – such as unemployment, domestic violence, housing or health issues – can have a devastating effect on children’s lives and their life chances.
“Too many families in difficult circumstances still don’t know who to turn to for help with well-meaning agencies often acting in an uncoordinated way that doesn’t help resolve the problems families are facing. By mobilising all those who can help at a local level – not just big charities, also small ones, volunteers, peers, schools, and GPs amongst others – in a coordinated way, this programme aims to pilot and explore the new ways of improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the UK.
“This programme is about innovation and finding successful, cost effective ways of helping those families, so that their problems don’t escalate into crisis. The thorough evaluation accompanying this work will help ensure that what we learn benefits children and their families well beyond the projects themselves.”
The programme will see some of the largest charities working together with some of the smallest community organisations and local public services to trial a range of family interventions.
A publication which provides further information about how the projects will change the lives of children across the UK can be found 
here New projects to transform the lives of children - 614KB
Helping you help your constituents
Our MP web pages have been set up to provide information sheets on current BIG funding programmes that can be used to deal with constituency queries about funding. They also provide briefings on BIG’s funding impact and learning by portfolio area and provide opportunities for MPs to arrange constituency visits to BIG funded projects.
Find out more on our constituency page.
Looking for funding?
Find out more about the current funding programmes in England
Get details of funding programmes from all National Lottery Distributors
Further information
Mark Breen
Parliamentary & UK External Relations Manager
mark.breen@biglotteryfund.org.uk
020 7211 3712
Follow BIG on twitter
BIG advice line 0845 4 10 20 30
