The Big Lottery Fund risks becoming too closely tied to UK Government policy under proposed new directions, NCVO has warned
The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) risks becoming too closely tied to UK Government policy under proposed new policy directions, NCVO has warned.
The third sector umbrella body for England and Wales said the directions, if unchallenged, would “unduly focus” the fund’s spending on government priorities.
NCVO’s concerns are centred on the principles of additionality – that Lottery funding should be distinct from government spending – and complementarity – that funds can be used to complement the work of other bodies.
In its response to a public consultation on the fund’s new policy directions, NCVO states: “The proposed directions change the clause in two significant ways, both of which alter its emphasis towards working more closely on current government priorities.
At the heart of our concerns is the need for the directions to continue giving effect to the additionality principle – the idea that BLF’s funding is supposed to be additional and distinct from government funding
“Firstly, there is no longer any mention of funders other than government in the clause, diminishing BLF’s ability to work jointly with the breadth of funders in the sector, which was a key reason for the original introduction of complementarity into the directions.
“Secondly, the new clause significantly expands the expression of complementarity by adding that government funding should be complemented in areas of mutual policy interest.”
According to NCVO, the proposed changes would threaten public perception of the fund, creating a risk that people could see it as being used to replace government spending.
The organisation stated “whether or not such a risk were realised in practice, the perception of BLF’s independence is critical to maintaining the public’s trust and confidence in the good causes element of National Lottery proceeds.”
To preserve the fund’s “flexibility and independence”, NCVO made a raft of recommendations, chief of which was a call to retain the current wording of the additionality and complementarity principles.
In a blog post, NCVO senior policy officer Michael Birtwistle explained: “At the heart of our concerns is the need for the directions to continue giving effect to the additionality principle – the idea that BLF’s funding is supposed to be additional and distinct from government funding.
“In practice, the additionality principle is given force through the wide measure of discretion that BLF is given to fund work across a broad range of areas within a general remit, which may or may not coincide with the work of other funders, government included.
“The changes highlighted above constrict BLF’s discretion, placing the additionality principle at serious risk of being undermined.”
NCVO’s concerns echo those of SCVO, which highlighted the importance of the fund remaining in its “unique position” of being independent from government.
In its response to the consultation, Scotland’s third sector body stated: “We suggest that the word government is replaced with 'other funders and parties’ in order to ensure as little unintended duplication as possible, and to continue clarity that it is not the place of the Big Lottery Fund to fund initiatives that government sees as helpful but is unwilling to fund directly.”
The public consultation closes on Friday 12 August.
