‘Showing its age’: National Lottery consults on future funding model

The UK Government has launched a call for evidence on National Lottery good cause funding to help shape its future investment priorities.

The 12-week consultation, National Lottery Good Causes: Fund What Matters To You, is open to members of the public, organisations and community groups across the UK.

The National Lottery is a crucial source of funding for museums and heritage; since being established in 1994 it has awarded £9.5bn to more than 53,000 projects across the UK via the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

However Fiona Twycross, the minister for museums and heritage, said the funding model was overdue a refresh.

“We have to be honest; while the impact of this funding has been life-changing, the way it is distributed is showing its age,” she said.

“The current funding model was built for a world that has long since passed us by. It is a model rooted in a different era, too often reliant on centralisation, with decisions about where this money goes being made in distant rooms, far from the communities who know their needs best.

“We need to flip that model, and as we look towards the next thirty years, we want to ensure the National Lottery is not just something that happens to people, but something that is driven by them.”

She added: “This call for evidence is the first step in protecting and strengthening this institution for future generations, ensuring it is driven by the very communities it is meant to serve.”

The government says it is guided by three beliefs:

• “This funding belongs to you. The billions of pounds raised should reflect the priorities of the British public. We want this investment to reach deep into communities and fund your priorities.
• Decisions should be made by you. We want to give local people a genuine voice in how funding is spent in their own communities. It’s time to move beyond top-down mandates and trust the people who know their streets, their clubs, and their heritage best.
• Your ambition shouldn’t be met with red tape. We are committed to stripping away the bureaucracy that acts as a barrier to community spirit. We want to make it easier for small, grassroots organisations to access the support they deserve without being drowned in paperwork.”

In an email to stakeholders, the lotteries team at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: “We know that lottery funding is critical for many organisations up and down the country. We want to protect and build on the National Lottery’s legacy by making sure it continues to fund the public’s priorities, reaches the communities that need it the most, and hands more power to local communities. 

“We would be delighted to hear your views, which you can do through the Call for Evidence here. This is open to members of the public, organisations, and communities across the UK. The government wants to hear what is working, what could be improved, where future funding should go, and how to make it easier to access.”

A stakeholder toolkit has been developed to help stakeholders engage with the consultation.

Sharon Heal, the director of the Museums Association, urged museum sector organisations and professionals to respond to the call for evidence.  

Heal said: “This is a great opportunity for museum workers and museums to influence the future of the National Lottery. The lottery has transformed the museum landscape across the UK and investment in hundreds of venues large and small has made them welcoming spaces that are fit for the future.

“Investment in engagement, collections and programming has fundamentally changed the way that museums work with communities and has meant that that more people than ever are enjoying the benefits of active participation in culture.”

Arts Council England said it was planning to respond to the call for evidence highlighting the “value of National Lottery funding to the cultural sector, and the critical role it plays in delivering excellent creativity and culture to communities across England”.

The arm's-length body, which hands out lottery funding via its project grants programme, is in the process of overhauling its own funding system.

“The arts council already made a commitment in our response to the Independent Review, led by Baroness Margaret Hodge, to make it simpler for people to access our funding, so that we can support excellence for everybody, everywhere,” said the body in a statement.

“We know that people deserve the chance to shape and determine what is funded in their neighbourhoods. So, we are giving communities much greater influence over how we invest. This work will become visible over the coming months as we embed local consultation and citizens’ views in our decision-making for the National Portfolio.”

Arts Council England’s chief executive Darren Henley, who is also chair of the UK National Lottery Forum, welcomed the National Lottery review. He said: “This is an important opportunity to ensure that funding from The National Lottery continues to reflect what matters most to people in our villages, our towns and our cities.

“Over the past three decades, the National Lottery has made a permanent, positive change to the whole country. It’s been the power behind the success of sport, culture, heritage, film and community projects across the UK. This is everyone’s chance to highlight the vital role of The National Lottery and its players in our public life.”

The National Lottery team at DCMS is keen to hear from those interested in getting further involved. The team can be reached on lottery-good-causes@dcms.gov.uk.