You have until 26 April to make your contribution to the debate about how Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) money should be spent between 2013 and 2019. You can give your opinion on www.hlf.org.uk/consultation2011

Within the consultation, HLF is setting out proposals on a wide range of key heritage issues. It offers you the opportunity to say what HLF’s priorities should be, what it should continue doing and what it should do differently, particularly as other sources of public investment become increasingly scarce.

The welcome news is that between 2013 and 2019, HLF expects to have a significantly increased annual awards budget of around £300million as a result of an increased share of Lottery good cause income for heritage.

In addition to the online consultation, HLF will be gathering together representatives from heritage and community organisations to gain views on HLF’s funding priorities and a wide range of other issues associated with HLF’s broad heritage remit – from meeting the challenges of climate change, to exploiting the opportunities offered by digital media and addressing the shortages in heritage skills.

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of HLF, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to learn how our funding can best help with the challenges ahead. We can only devise the very best strategy by listening closely to the partners, funders, organisations and individuals who are involved in and enthusiastic about the UK’s heritage.

“These are turbulent times and heritage organisations across the UK are facing both challenges and opportunities. We know that heritage can play an important role in economic recovery and the future of the nation and we will have significantly more money to invest than has been available in recent years – we need to make sure we make the most of it.”