UK government asks the sector what National Lottery funding should prioritise

The UK government has opened a call for evidence on how National Lottery Good Causes funding should work going forward. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is asking three specific things: how the money can reach underserved areas more effectively, how funding priorities should be updated to match today's sector, and how the process itself can carry less bureaucracy for the people applying.

The call is open to individuals and organisations across the UK, not just current grant recipients, so anyone in the sector with a view on how this funding should be spent can respond directly rather than through a representative body.

Arts Council England is already encouraging the sector to respond, since a meaningful share of English cultural funding runs through this pot in one form or another — grants that support venues, companies and individual artists all ultimately connect back to decisions like this one.

Responses close at midday on 23 September 2026 — roughly five weeks out. For circus companies, venues and artists whose funding depends on Lottery-backed streams, that's a real window to help set the terms of future funding rather than just react to them once they're fixed.