National Lottery Heritage Fund Extends Terms of Two Board Trustees

The terms of two National Lottery Heritage Fund trustees have been extended, keeping Mukesh Sharma on the board until late December and James Twining in post until May 2027.

Sharma’s second term has been extended by four months, while Twining’s first term will continue for a further six months. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed that both decisions were approved by the previous prime minister.

Sharma to remain until December

Mukesh Sharma’s second term has been extended from 30 August until 29 December 2026.

Sharma is currently deputy chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and chair of its Northern Ireland Committee. He has experience in business growth, acquisitions, organisational change and international partnerships and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for the County Borough of Belfast in 2016. He also holds positions with a number of charities and organisations, including Barnardo’s, ArtsEkta, the Goliath Trust and The King’s Trust.

Sharma has previously served on the Northern Ireland Executive Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition and the Cabinet Office Contested Heritage Advisory Board.

He received an MBE for services to Northern Ireland’s travel industry in 2016. Sharma was subsequently awarded an OBE for services to heritage in The King’s Birthday Honours 2026.

The Northern Ireland trustee position carries annual remuneration of £20,749.

Twining’s first term extended

James Twining has received a six-month extension covering the period from 30 November 2026 until 29 May 2027.

Twining is a trustee and chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Audit and Risk Committee. The committee chair position carries annual remuneration of £13,500.

He is also chair and chief executive of independent financial advice company Wren Sterling and chief executive of its fund management subsidiary, Magnus.

Twining has more than 30 years of experience in financial services. His previous positions include senior roles with SBC Warburg, McKinsey & Co., Jardine Lloyd Thompson and the Kingsbridge Group.

Outside the financial sector, Twining is a governor of Merchant Taylors’ School and a director of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club. He was previously a founding trustee and vice chair of the English Heritage Trust, where he chaired its Investment and Fundraising Committees.

Trustees oversee major funding decisions

The National Lottery Heritage Fund Board leads the organisation’s strategic development and makes decisions on grant applications worth more than £5 million.

It also considers applications submitted through programmes relating to historic parks, landscapes and townscapes.

Trustees are appointed by the prime minister, following an open recruitment process, to the board of the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Although the appointments are made through government, trustees make funding decisions independently.

Trustee extensions at a glance

Extensions follow appointments code

The extensions were made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The public appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Under the code, appointees must declare significant political activity undertaken during the previous five years. This can include holding political office, making public speeches on behalf of a political party, making a recordable political donation or standing as a candidate in an election.

Neither Sharma nor Twining declared any significant political activity during the relevant period.