Have your say: National Lottery Good Causes, Call for Evidence Open | Arts Council England

The Government has launched a 12 week UK wide Call for Evidence on National Lottery Good Causes. It aims to check that this funding works well for the public, meets community needs, and is easy to access.

Get involved

Everyone is welcome to contribute their thoughts to this call: artists, cultural workers, organisations, and members of the public. We encourage everybody who cares about the arts, museums and libraries – whether in their professional or personal lives – to take part in the consultation. Please do take the time to share your thoughts, your experiences, and what this funding means to you. 

What we’ll be doing

The Arts Council already made a commitment in our response to the Independent Review to making it simpler for people to access our funding, so that we can support excellence for everybody, everywhere. 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.

In line with the government’s timeframe, over the next 12 weeks, we will focus on supporting our sector as they undertake this Call for Evidence. For our part, we will provide clear evidence on the distribution of our funding from The National Lottery, and on its impact on people across the country. 

We will plan to submit our own response 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.

Our chief executive Darren Henley, who is also chair of the UK National Lottery Forum, yesterday 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.”