NICVA calls for nothing less than a BIG 100%

In a letter to Colin Watson, Head of Lottery and Sport at DCAL, NICVA is seeking the assurance that money distributed by the Big Lottery Fund to projects in the voluntary and community sector benefits the people and local communities in that sector. DCAL policy must ensure 100% of BIG funding goes into the work of the sector.

Proposals from DCAL have indicated a preference for a much broader interpretation of who could receive the funds. If DCAL adopts this policy position, it will enable local health trusts, councils and others to receive allocations of lottery funding, going against the Government’s pre-election pledge to give 100% of Big Lottery Fund to the voluntary and community sector.

NICVA is already concerned that the reduction in the proportion of good causes funding to BIG, from 50% to 40% of all monies raised through the National Lottery, will inevitably mean less funding to the sector. In a meeting with DCAL officials NICVA reiterated the view that, as the Exchequer already receives 12% of monies in Lottery Duty, enabling statutory organisations to receive further funding from the good causes allocation is a double whammy.

NICVA conceded that the policy could apply to new programmes developed by Big Lottery Fund because current BIG programmes could not comply with the new policy direction.

The new policy is due to come into force from April 2011.