£600MMillion funding for projects helping to tackle coronavirus impact

This funding will span the arts, community and charity, heritage, education, environment and sport. It will also help to further support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities during this unprecedented time.

Well Fed, a project in Scotland (pictured above), has received £10,000 in National Lottery funding to support its coronavirus emergency response. It is working to ensure access to healthy and nutritious meals for those who need it most. Well Fed’s beneficiaries include people affected by homelessness, income deprivation, social isolation and those vulnerable due to age, disability or health conditions.

The £600 million will be distributed through National Lottery bodies which manage the distribution of money to good causes in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

• It includes up to £300 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, which includes support for food banks and helping reduce the causes of loneliness and isolation. There’s also help for the elderly and projects that support health in the community.
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund will use a £50 million emergency fund to help ease pressures on the UK’s heritage sites. It will also provide increased investment in essential digital skills.
• Sport England has announced £157 million to help the sport and leisure projects because of the pandemic. It has also launched Join the Movement, a National Lottery supported campaign to encourage people to stay active at home and share experiences on social media through #StayInWorkOut.
• Sports Wales has announced a £4.75 million to support sports clubs and their partner networks ensuring the nation is able to remain active.
• sportscotland is accelerating £16.4 million (£8.2 million from National Lottery funding and £8.2 million from the Scottish Government) to support local partners, clubs and community organisations. The funding will help protect the jobs of an estimated 1,600 members of staff.
• The Arts Council in England will use £144 million of National Lottery funding to create an emergency response package to support individuals and organisations across the cultural sector.
• Creative Scotland has repurposed over £10 million of National Lottery funding to keep funding flowing for Scotland’s creative industries.
• The Arts Council of Wales, along with the Welsh Government, are using £5.1 million of National Lottery funding to provide £7 million in support for arts funded individuals and organisations to help them through the coronavirus crisis.
• The British Film Institute (BFI) has made £4.6 million of National Lottery funding available to alleviate immediate pressure for organisations and individuals in the screen industries hardest hit by the pandemic.
• The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has opened a £500,000 National Lottery funded Artists Emergency Programme for freelance artists, creative practitioners and performers.

Dawn Austwick, Chair of The National Lottery Forum, said, “The National Lottery has always supported projects that help people and communities across the UK thrive. And now, the funds available are switching focus to support communities, arts, heritage, sport, education and the environment to mitigate the unprecedented pressure they are coming under as the country rallies to overcome coronavirus.”

29th April 2020