2010 to 2015 government policy: National Lottery funding
Updated 8 May 2015
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-national-lottery-funding/2010-to-2015-government-policy-national-lottery-funding
This is a copy of a document that stated a policy of the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government. The previous URL of this page was https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-sure-the-national-lottery-operates-effectively-and-that-funding-for-good-causes-is-distributed-properly. Current policies can be found at the GOV.UK policies list.
Issue
Through the National Lottery, the public provides billions of pounds of funding for good causes in the arts, sport, heritage and the voluntary and community sectors. But it needs to be governed and run fairly, and we need to decide how the money is distributed, and record and publicise how it is distributed.
Actions
We work to ensure the National Lottery operates effectively by:
- setting the policy for how National Lottery funding is distributed between good causes
- making sure the National Lottery Commission has the rules and funding to do its job effectively
- collecting and publishing information about how and where National Lottery grants are spent
The government’s arm’s length bodies, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, the British Film Institute, UK Sport and Sport England, Arts Council England and the Big Lottery Fund, decide which projects receive National Lottery funding and also distribute the funds. Ministers are not involved in decisions about which projects to fund with National Lottery money.
Background
We set up the National Lottery in 1993, and the first National Lottery draw was held in 1994. Since then, it has generated over £100 billion in ticket sales to May 2014, with over £31 billion raised for good causes.
Over 434,000 projects had been given grants by May 2014, ranging from large projects like the London 2012 Olympic Games to smaller projects like playgrounds, community arts and literature projects.
National Lottery good causes
In November 2010, following public consultation, we increased the share of lottery funding that is given to the arts, heritage and sport back to their original levels of 20% each, and reduced the Big Lottery Fund share which goes to voluntary and community projects to 40%.
Who we’ve consulted
National Lottery consultations
Appendix 1: collecting and publishing information about how and where Lottery grants are spent
This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.
We collect and make available information about how money is spent on Lottery good causes in the arts, sport, heritage and the voluntary and community sectors.
You can find this on the National Lottery Grants Search Database, along with details like:
- organisations that received Lottery grants
- Lottery distributing bodies that made the grants
- projects Lottery money was spent on, including amounts and dates
- local authority or Parliamentary constituency of a Lottery-funded organisation
- Lottery money spending in the United Kingdom and by UK organisations abroad
- amount of Lottery money received by each of the 4 Lottery good causes: arts, sport, heritage and the voluntary and community sector
Appendix 2: sponsoring the National Lottery Commission
This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is the parent department of the National Lottery Commission (NLC), which regulates the National Lottery game and the game operator. It does this independently of government. We develop the policy that the Commission follows.
We announced in 2010 that the NLC and the Gambling Commission would merge, saving money and creating a single regulator in this area. This merger should be complete in 2013.
NLC’s duties are to:
- make sure that the National Lottery, and every lottery that is part of it, is managed properly
- protect the interests of all participants in the Lottery: players, the nation and the Lottery operator
- make sure as much money as possible is raised for the good causes
NLC’s role is to:
- select the Lottery operator, setting the terms of its licence and making sure it operates according to those terms
- make sure individuals and companies associated with the National Lottery are ‘fit and proper,’ meaning that they won’t have a negative impact on the reputation or running of the Lottery.
- license individual games that form part of the National Lottery, making sure the National Lottery operator pays the right amount of money into the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF)
The NLC protects players by:
- making sure they’re provided with clear information
- making sure that there are controls in place to protect against excessive and underage play
- setting rules and procedures for each game.
Camelot Group plc has been running the National Lottery since it was first awarded the licence in 1994. Camelot’s responsibilities include:
- devising and operating the National Lottery games, with NLC approval
- marketing and promoting the National Lottery games
- selecting National Lottery retail outlets
- paying prizes
- paying the good causes’ share of turnover to the NLDF
Appendix 3: setting the policy for how National Lottery funding is distributed between good causes
This was a supporting detail page of the main policy document.
We issue instructions, called ‘policy and financial directions’, to 6 English and UK-wide National Lottery distributing bodies, who distribute National Lottery funding.
They decide how to allocate money without the government’s involvement, but according to criteria we set.
Arts Council England
Big Lottery Fund
British Film Institute
Heritage Lottery Fund
Sport England
UK Sport
Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish Lottery distributing bodies’ policy directions are issued by the Welsh government, the Scottish government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The distribution process
Camelot Group plc, operator of the National Lottery games, passes income from the sale of Lottery tickets to the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF). DCMS administers the Fund, passing the money to the distributors.
Distribution bodies work out how much money they need for the Lottery grants they have approved, and for their own operating costs, which we advise they keep at 8% or under in the UK and England.
If a project is not yet ready to receive funding, or if it’s getting paid in stages, the remainder is invested by the National Debt Commissioners until it’s needed. Income from the investment is used for future grants.
More information
To apply for a National Lottery grant visit the Lottery good causes website or telephone the Lottery Funding Hotline on 0845 275 0000 to get advice on which distribution body to contact.