The Big Lottery Fund is to allocate 0.7 per cent of its budget this financial year to social investment.

Minister for civil society Nick Hurd revealed BIG’s funding pot for social investment in response to a parliamentary question from shadow minister for civil society Gareth Thomas.

Thomas asked Hurd how much funding BIG planned to allocate to working with the private sector and growing the social investment market in each year until 2015.

Hurd said BIG had made no specific funding allocation to working with the private sector, but added:

“On social investment, BIG’s England Committee has allocated £4.3m for this financial year.”

In an interview with civilsociety.co.uk last month chief executive of BIG Peter Wanless said the funder had not earmarked a particular sum or proportion of funding for social investment. He said that the total lottery income available to BIG to distribute was likely to be in the region of £600m to £650m a year.

Hurd’s revelation last week suggests that BIG will allocate just under 1 per cent of its budget to boosting social investment.