How should Lottery funds be spent?

1:19pm Monday 17th November 2008

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The BIG Lottery Fund is calling for the public to tell them how BIG’s share of good cause billions, raised from every Lottery ticket sold, should be spent over the next six years.

The biggest of the Lottery good cause funders is opening a public consultation – asking organisations and individuals to join the debate on how the Big Lottery Fund’s good cause money should be allocated from 2009 to 2015, when BIG is expecting to distribute over £2 billion.

Big thinking (www.big-thinking.org.uk), the Fund’s public consultation launches today (Monday, November 17, 2008) and runs until February 24, 2009. BIG is responsible for distributing half of the UK’s good causes Lottery cash.

Sir Clive Booth, UK Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We must ensure that BIG can make the best possible contribution to communities and people most in need over the next six years."

Sir Clive Booth continued: “The financial turmoil of the past weeks has been unsettling for communities across the country. All the evidence shows that it is the worst off who will be affected most. This makes our Big thinking conversation even more important. We want to hear from you how Lottery funding can best benefit communities. Make your voices heard and help influence where BIG’s Lottery money goes.”

Big thinking is giving everyone the chance to have their say through a series of national, regional and local face-to-face events and online channels including questionnaires, blogs and videos at www.big-thinking.org.uk. It will look back at what has been achieved from more than ten years of Lottery funding and is seeking opinions on what the Fund can do even better to bring a real difference to good causes across the UK.

Peter Wanless, UK CEO of the Big Lottery Fund commented, “Everyone’s opinion counts and will help form our funding strategy for the next six years. A fascinating feature of the consultation is the learning we can draw from being a UK fund that – within common principles and values – is developing in significantly different and distinct ways in each of the four countries of the UK. In Scotland, we have experimented with a ‘single front door’ for lottery applications. In Northern Ireland we have just launched Building Change Trust, a ten year commitment to support change in the voluntary and community sector.”

Peter Wanless continued: “We listened and learnt from our last consultation by introducing significant improvements to how we fund, extending the length of our typical awards up to five years and offering community organisations far greater opportunity to plan for a sustainable future. Now is the time for everyone to get involved in what happens next.”