Millennium Commission
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium
File:2nd millennium montage.png|From left, clockwise: In 1492, Christopher Columbus; The American Revolution; The French Revolution; The Atomic Bomb from World War II; An alternate source of light, the Light Bulb; For the first time, a human being sets foot on the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11...
and the start of the 3rd millennium
3rd millennium
In contemporary history, the third millennium is a period of time that commenced on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 3000, of the Gregorian calendar. This is the third period of one thousand years in the Anno Domini...
. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
.
The Commission was originally set up in 1993 through the UK government the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. It was an independent non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
. Commissioners were appointed by the Queen
British monarchy
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
on the advice of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
: the Chair of the Commission was, for most of its life, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...
, and for most of its life a second cabinet Minister was also a Commissioner. During Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
's tenure as Chair the second Minister was Richard Caborn
Richard Caborn
Richard George Caborn PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central from 1983 to 2010...
.
Income from the National Lottery ceased in August 2001, but distribution of project grant funding continued until the Commission was abolished on 30 November 2006. Over £2 billion was given to fund buildings, environmental projects, celebrations and community schemes.
The Millenium Commission ceased to exist on 1 December 2006.
Examples of projects funded
- Black Country Urban ForestBlack Country Urban ForestThe Black Country Urban Forest is a partnership of the voluntary sector and local government with the aim of making urban forestry the characteristic landscape of one of England's industrial areas, The Black Country....
- Eden ProjectEden ProjectThe Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, including the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world....
Cornwall - Centre for LifeCentre for LifeThe Centre for Life is a science centre located in the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is an educational charity which aims to promote greater interest and engagement in science as well as supporting scientific research...
- The DeepThe Deep (aquarium)-External links:* in association with the University of Hull*...
- Falkirk WheelFalkirk WheelThe Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift located in Scotland, UK,connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, opened in 2002. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk which is in central Scotland...
- Glasgow Science CentreGlasgow Science CentreGlasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a purpose-built science centre composed of three principal buildings which are the Science Mall, an IMAX cinema and the Glasgow Tower...
- Magna Science Adventure CentreMagna Science Adventure CentreMagna Science Adventure Centre is an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children. It is located in a disused steel mill in the Templeborough district of Rotherham, England. The site is formerly home to the Steel, Peech and Tozer steel works...
- Millennium DomeMillennium DomeThe Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
- Five Millennium piers for London River ServicesLondon River ServicesLondon River Services is a division of Transport for London , which manages passenger transport on the River Thames in London, UK. They do not own or operate any boats but license the services of other operators...
- National Centre for Popular MusicNational Centre for Popular MusicThe National Centre for Popular Music was a museum in Sheffield, England for contemporary music and culture, a £15 million project largely funded with contributions from the National Lottery, which opened on 1 March 1999, and closed in June 2000....
- National Space CentreNational Space CentreThe National Space Centre is one of the United Kingdom's leading visitor attractions that is devoted to space science and astronomy. It is located in the city of Leicester, England, next to the River Soar on the A6.-History:...
- Odyssey CentreOdyssey (Belfast)The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with...
- Our Dynamic EarthOur Dynamic EarthOur Dynamic Earth is a science centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a prominent visitors attraction in the city, and also functions as a conference venue. It sits in the Holyrood area, beside the Scottish Parliament building and at the foot of Arthur's Seat....
- ReDiscover
- INTECHINTECHINTECH is an internationally renowned educational resource centre for science situated in Morn Hill, just outside the city of Winchester in the United Kingdom...
- Millennium StadiumMillennium StadiumThe Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
Commissioners
There were initially nine commissioners – two ministers, one appointed by the opposition, and six independents. The number of commissioners was reduced to five as the work of the commission decreased. The final members were:- Richard Caborn (Chair), Minister for Sport
- Floella BenjaminFloella BenjaminFloella Karen Yunies Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin OBE DL is a British actress, author, television presenter, businesswoman and politician...
, actress and author - Heather CouperHeather CouperHeather Anita Couper CBE CPhys is a British astronomer who popularized astronomy in the 1980s and 1990s on British television. She is a former president of the British Astronomical Association from 1984 to 1986.-Early life:...
, broadcaster and writer on space - Judith Donovan, health and safety commissioner
- Michael Heseltine, former Conservative cabinet minister
Previous commissioners
- Virginia BottomleyVirginia BottomleyVirginia Bottomley, Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, PC, DL is a British Conservative Party politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005. She was raised to the peerage in 2005...
- Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville
- Lord Clark of WindermereDavid Clark, Baron Clark of WindermereDavid George Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere PC DL is a British Labour politician, former cabinet minister and author.-Education and early career:...
- Jack CunninghamJack CunninghamJohn "Jack" Anderson Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC, DL is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Copeland from 1983 to 2005, and previously served in the Cabinet.-Early life:...
- Matthew d'AnconaMatthew d'AnconaMatthew d'Ancona is a British journalist. A former deputy editor of The Sunday Telegraph, he was appointed editor of The Spectator in February 2006, a post he retained until August 2009.-Early life:...
- Richard Scott, Earl of Dalkeith
- Stephen DorrellStephen DorrellStephen James Dorrell is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage and Secretary of State for Health...
- Sir John HallJohn Hall (businessman)Sir John Hall is a property developer in North East England. He is also life president and former chairman of Newcastle United.-Biography:...
- Robin Dixon, 3rd Baron GlentoranRobin Dixon, 3rd Baron GlentoranMajor Thomas "Robin" Valerian Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran CBE is a former British bobsledder and Northern Irish politician, known as Robin Dixon. He is a former Conservative Party Shadow Minister for the Olympics....
- Sir Simon JenkinsSimon JenkinsSir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
- Tessa Jowell
- Lord Montague of OxfordMichael Montague, Baron Montague of OxfordMichael Montague, Baron Montague of Oxford CBE was a British businessman and politician.-Biography:Michael Jacob Montague was born on March 10, 1932, the son of David and Eleanor Montague...
- Mo MowlamMo MowlamMarjorie "Mo" Mowlam was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.Mowlam's time as Northern...
- Barbara RocheBarbara RocheBarbara Maureen Roche is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green from 1992 until 2005, when she lost the seat, despite having previously enjoyed a majority of over 10,500.During her time in Government, she held several ministerial offices;...
- Baroness Scotland of Asthal
- Baron Smith of Finsbury