House of Lords Debate Marks the 21st Birthday of the National Lottery and its contribution to sport

Parliamentary Officer, Emma Wade, has blogged about the House of Lords debate that marked 21 years of National Lottery Funding for sport.

There can be no doubt that National Lottery funding has had a huge impact over the last 21 years, transforming sport at every level. Since 1995, the total amount of lottery funding awarded is £31 billion, with over £6 billion of this going to sporting projects.

At the elite level, funding through UK Sport has seen Team GB go from finishing 36th at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 to 3rd place in the medals table in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012.

Lottery funding is the primary reason why Team GB and Paralympics GB now occupy such proud places on the centre stage of world sport, and since 1997, 633 medals have been won in Olympic and Paralympic Games by Lottery funded athletes.

However, elite success is only one part of the picture. The Lottery, through the 4 national sports distributors, provides crucial funds to support grassroots and community sport. Over 70% of sporting grants made are for less than £10,000 – a large number of these go to help local clubs keep their facilities in good condition and run activities for as many people as possible.

As well as sport, heritage and the arts, 40% of funds are distributed through the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) to charitable causes. Since June 2004, the BLF has contributed £272 million to 19,720 community sports projects across the country.

During the House of Lords debate on the National Lottery last Thursday, the Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, former captain of the England women’s cricket team, celebrated the Alliance’s ‘Get Your Kit On’ campaign to make the case for the value of grassroots sport and its funding ahead of November’s Spending Review.

She also asked the Government to look forward to new challenges, suggesting a ring-fenced National Lottery fund to help tackle the persistent and dangerous trend of inactivity across swathes of the UK population, and to target hard-to-reach community groups; a position the Alliance also supports.

Whilst a number of the speeches during the debate talked about the importance of sport in our daily lives, the case was made for adequate funds to be made available at all levels – and through all the National Lottery distributors. Further partnership between the arts, heritage, sport and the BLF were discussed as a way of building a broad community-based offer to capture those not already engaged.

Overall, it was an interesting and thought-provoking discussion, with a host of new ideas and suggestions for the Government Minister to take away and consider. However, the main conclusion was clear: whether through funding for professional athletes ‘going-for-gold’ at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, or a grant awarded to a local sports club to build new facilities, the National Lottery Good Causes programme continues to inspire the next generation of sporting stars and build a legacy that makes a life-changing difference for millions of people.

Adding her thoughts to the debate, Alliance Chief Executive, Emma Boggis said,  “The Alliance is delighted to have been able to contribute to this important debate. It is clear that funds from the Lottery represent an essential part of the overall funding mix for sport in the UK.

Crucially, thanks to the principle of additionality, this source is distinct from Exchequer funds for direct investment into sport. We were delighted that in the outcome of the spending review, the Government recognised this distinction and continued to provide Exchequer investment into sport. Working together these two important sources of funds can secure the benefits of investment made to date and will help to maintain the position of British sport from the grassroots to the elite."

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