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Government launches call for evidence on how National Lottery good cause funding is distributed
Howard Lake | 29 July 2026 | News
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has opened a 12-week call for evidence, National Lottery Good Causes: Fund what matters to you, inviting the public and organisations to shape how good cause funding is distributed over the next three decades.
In her ministerial foreword, Baroness Twycross (Minister for Museums, Gambling and Heritage) describes the Lottery as a national institution “belonging to all of us,” alongside the NHS and BBC, that has generated over £53 billion for more than 680,000 projects. She argues, however, that the distribution model, largely unchanged since 1994, “is showing its age” and remains too centralised, with decisions “made in distant rooms” far from communities. The review is guided by three beliefs:
- the funding belongs to the public
- decisions should involve local people
- and access should not be strangled by red tape.
The document celebrates the National Lottery‘s reach since the first draw in November 1994, from London 2012 to landmarks such as Shakespeare’s Globe and the V&A Dundee, and British films including Billy Elliot and Aftersun. Twelve distributors, operating at arm’s length from government, award tens of thousands of grants annually.
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Where the money goes
The Lottery generated over £8 billion in revenue in 2025, with £1.7 billion granted to good causes from ticket sales.
Across the Fourth Licence, each £1 spent is expected to break down roughly as 56p to prizes, 23p to good causes, 12p to Lottery Duty, and the remainder to retailers, operating costs and operator profit.
Funding is split by statute across four causes: 40% to charitable, health, education and environmental activities (via the National Lottery Community Fund), and 20% each to Arts and Culture, Sport, and Heritage. Highlights from the ten-year distribution figures include roughly £6.23 billion via the Community Fund, £2.39 billion via the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and around £2.36 billion via Arts Council England.
The “additionality” principle, ensuring Lottery money supplements rather than substitutes core state spending, is reaffirmed. Historically, the model has seen mergers and rebrands (the Community Fund forming in 2019, the Heritage Fund renamed the same year), the 1998 New Opportunities Fund for health and education, and a 2012 rebalancing back towards the original weightings.
What the government wants to achieve
With Allwyn committed to doubling good cause returns by 2034, DCMS judges the conditions “optimal” to review a system now 32 years old.
Three core objectives are set out: fund what’s important to you (ensuring funding reflects national and local priorities and reaches those most in need); empower your communities (giving people a greater voice, and easing access for small organisations, potentially through small and micro grants); and simplify access (cutting bureaucracy and harnessing technology so more money reaches communities efficiently). The government stresses continued commitment to the arm’s-length and additionality principles.
The scope is deliberately wide and UK-wide, seeking views on how funding is distributed, what it is spent on, and people’s experiences of accessing it, including from those who have never benefited. DCMS is running targeted engagement alongside the survey and will work with the devolved governments; findings will inform later policy proposals.
How to respond
The call for evidence closes at midday on 23 September 2026. Responses are open to those aged 16 and over. The preferred route is the online survey (15–20 minutes, progress can be saved). Alternatively, responses can be sent by email to lo*****************@******ov.uk or by post to the National Lottery Good Causes Team at DCMS.
- National Lottery Community Fund doubles grassroots funding (15 November 2023)
- National Lottery Community Fund opens £166 million funding stream for Scotland (27 November 2024)
- National Lottery Community Fund announces multimillion ound fund with funding focus for Northern Ireland (2 October 2024)
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.