National Lottery Good Causes: Fund what matters to you - GOV.UK
Call for evidence is split into 5 sections:
‘About you’
‘Empowering your communities to feel benefits’
‘Funding what’s important to you’
‘Empowering communities to take decisions’
‘Simplifying access to funding’
The organisational questions are mostly targeted at organisations which have received or applied for National Lottery funding. They are unsuitable for us to answer, instead we will provide answers to the ‘about you’ questions and to the final question ‘Do you have anything else that you would like to tell us as part of this call for evidence?’.
About you Questions (for these questions you have to pick from a list):
PD1. Are you answering this call for evidence as an individual member of the public, or on behalf of an organisation? On behalf of an organisation
PD2. What is the name of your organisation? sportscotland
PD3. Where in the UK are your organisation’s headquarters based? Southwest Scotland (2B)
PD4. The government is interested in understanding whether there is a relationship between where organisations are based and the impact of and access to National Lottery Good Cause Funding. To aid we are asking for your organisation’s headquarters postcode, but this is not a mandatory requirement. G40 1DA
PD5. How many employees does your organisation currently have?250+ employees (4)
PD6. Which of the following best describes the legal or operational structure of your organisation? Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB)
PD7. Which of the following sector(s) best represents your organisation? Please select as many as apply. National Lottery Distributor Body/ Sport (1 and 3)
PD8. What was your organisation’s approximate turnover in the last financial year? For charities or non-profits, please use your total annual income figure (e.g. total funds raised plus any income from grants). £5,000,000 (5)
sportscotland’s response:
sportscotland welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this call for evidence as the national agency for sport in Scotland and a National Lottery distributor.
National Lottery has played a transformational role in supporting people, places and communities across Scotland. Our vision at sportscotland is an active Scotland where everyone benefits from sport. In an active Scotland we will all find ways to be physically active every day. Keeping moving at home and at work. Taking an active approach to getting around. Choosing to be active in our leisure time.
More of us will take part in sport because we see it being relevant to our lives. Being involved in ways that suit us. Meeting fewer barriers. Feeling more included. We will all experience more of the benefits of sport. For some of us, by taking part. For others, through our communities.
As a National Lottery distributor, what that means for us is that sportscotland’s focus is on getting investment to the right people, in the right place at the right time. Our aim is for our communities across the country to benefit directly from investment with as little bureaucracy as possible. We combine national stewardship with local delivery, ensuring that funding reaches communities throughout the country, including rural, remote and islands communities.
A fundamental principle underlying our approach is additionality. National Lottery funding should continue to support activity that goes beyond, enhances or complements statutory provision. This principle is central to how we invest and allows us to create opportunities, facilities, programmes and partnerships that would not otherwise exist. As the recipient of both National Lottery and Scottish Government funding, sportscotland has a unique perspective on the different purposes of these funding streams, enabling us to ensure National Lottery investment delivers true additionality beyond statutory provision.
As a distributor, sportscotland takes a whole-system approach to investment. Rather than simply awarding individual grants, we invest in the wider sporting system, enabling a network of trusted national, regional and local partners to deliver benefits directly to communities. We have dedicated partnership managers who work closely with Governing Bodies of Sport and local authorities. Together, they agree shared priorities and goals through partnership agreements. We also have Community Sport Hub Officers and Active Schools staff in every local authority area, and strong partnerships with national organisations. This local presence helps us understand the needs of communities, spot emerging issues early, and respond quickly when support is needed.
We work to bring together our networks and partners and ensure we connect the right people at the right time to help progress sport in Scotland. To support this approach, we have designed our systems and processes to ensure funding flows quickly and efficiently to partners, enabling resources to reach communities where they are needed most, while maintaining appropriate governance and oversight. Our approach is different from that of other distributors, because we invest in the wider sporting system, not just individual grants. This means we do not always have a simple link between “one grant, one impact.”
One example of this approach is our investment of approximately £3 million annually in Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport. The funding enables governing bodies to deliver participation opportunities, pathways, programmes and support directly to communities across Scotland. Through these organisations, National Lottery funding supports thousands of participants, volunteers and clubs.
Excellent collaboration and partnership working is essential to ensuring National Lottery funding reaches those who can benefit most. sportscotland invests in a range of national partners with strong community reach and expertise, including Scottish Disability Sport, Scottish Student Sport and ClubSport Scotland.
The Active Campus Network, supported by £1.45 million of national lottery funding, is a partnership between sportscotland, Scottish Student Sport and Colleges Scotland. It helps to put sport and physical activity at the centre of college life by giving students across the country the opportunity to get active, significantly benefiting their physical and mental wellbeing supported by an 18-strong team of Active Campus Co-ordinators.
Data from the first year of the project has shown a significant increase in sport and physical activity across the college sector. There were over 30,000 visits from participants to more than 3,500 Active Campus sessions in 23/24. This represents a 79% increase in visits and 31% increase in sessions from baseline data at the start of the initiative. The strength of the partnership working between sportscotland, Scottish Student Sport and Colleges Scotland have been key to leveraging the very best from this programme and demonstrates the critical importance of how we distribute National Lottery Funding for maximum community benefit.
Community Sport Hubs (CSHs) are one of the most significant ways National Lottery investment is translated into meaningful local impact across Scotland. Funded by The National Lottery and delivered by sportscotland, the programme supports communities to create inclusive, locally led opportunities for people to be active, connect with others and improve their wellbeing through sport and physical activity.
A Community Sport Hub brings together sports clubs, schools, local authorities and community organisations to respond to the specific needs of a community. Through collaboration, local leaders are empowered to develop activities and interventions that remove barriers to participation and ensure everyone has the opportunity to benefit from sport. Across Scotland, a network of Community Sport Hub Officers supports this work by helping communities build partnerships, develop plans and strengthen the capacity of local organisations.
The importance of National Lottery investment can be seen in the diverse impact Community Sport Hubs are delivering across the country. At Meggetland Community Sport Hub, a partnership with Edinburgh Schools Kayak Club and Edinburgh Young Carers has enabled young carers aged 5–25 to access paddleboarding sessions on the Union Canal, providing opportunities for recreation, confidence building and respite. In Leith, the Community Sport Hub brings together traditional sports clubs alongside organisations including Police Scotland, youth work groups, Leith Academy and Hibernian Community Foundation, demonstrating how sport can act as a catalyst for wider community collaboration.
National Lottery investment is also helping hubs create more inclusive sporting environments. Through links with West End Community Sport Hub, Dundee Deuces has established welcoming tennis and pickleball sessions designed to create positive spaces for LGBTQ+ participants. The impact of the Community Sport Hub approach extends beyond sport itself. In Fintry, local volunteers transformed a disused bowling club into a thriving community hub and event space, creating a valuable asset that once again brings people together and supports a wide range of community activities.
While every Community Sport Hub is unique, they are all built on the same three pillars: meeting community needs, fostering community collaboration and empowering community leaders. Through National Lottery investment, Community Sport Hubs are helping communities across all 32 local authorities become more active, connected and resilient, ensuring more people can benefit from Scotland’s sporting system.
National Lottery funding also enables direct investment in local facilities that sit at the heart of communities. The aim behind the sportscotland Sport Facilities Fund is to support capital projects which are designed to create or improve the places where people take part in sport and physical activity in their local community. Priority is given to projects that widen access to participation or allow people to progress further within their chosen sport locally by removing barriers, particularly in rural areas or areas of deprivation and for groups who are underrepresented in sport.
In 2025, £1,733,490 was shared by 17 projects, enabling a total investment of £11,577,642 in match funding in those projects. This included £149,987 for Southside Boxing Academy in Glasgow towards the conversion of a community hall to a boxing gym. The hall was at risk of closure, so the project was able to save a facility and convert it into a new home for sport. The club has enjoyed a big rise in participation since it started but was limited by its previous capacity, the conversion has allowed them to reach a far greater number of people. They have 500 members from deprived areas, around a third of its members are women and girls, over 40% are from ethnically diverse backgrounds and over 25% of youth participants have additional support needs.
Another example of our Sport Facilities Fund in action is The Wellbeing Hub and Lochies School in Clackmannanshire which is currently in development. Supported by £500,000 of National Lottery funding, the project will create a flagship learning, leisure and wellbeing campus in an area of high deprivation. Bringing together sport, education, health and community services in a single location, the hub will provide modern facilities for local residents while supporting wellbeing, inclusion and community life. The school is being developed for pupils with severe and complex needs, so inclusion and accessibility has been a key element of the design of both the school and the wellbeing hub. The project will also be one of the first large-scale community facilities in Scotland to be built to Passivhaus standards, helping to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
Additionally, National Lottery funding contributes to our Cycling Facilities Fund, which is made up of £4 million of National Lottery funding and £4 million from the Scottish Government funding via sportscotland. This £8 million of funding has unlocked a total of £18 million when match funding is considered, a figure that will continue to rise with more projects in development. There have been 31 completed projects over the last five years with that number expected to reach 50 by the close of the fund.
Administered jointly by Scottish Cycling andsportscotland, the fund has already delivered new cycling facilities in 70% of local authority areas across Scotland, with approximately 1.2 million using the new sites.
This includes at Clyde Cycle Park in Cambuslang which has been transformed into a leading regional cycle centre. A £1.6 million expansion will see the facility grow from a 250m circuit to a full 1km track built to British and Scottish Cycling specifications. A £1m award from the Cycling Facilities Fund will help the venue to host regional and national level events, while continuing to serve as a vital community asset promoting active travel, inclusive sport and environmental sustainability.
Clyde Cycle Park isn’t just about sport, it’s about people with community activities and cycling courses high on the agenda as well as work with disabled groups, care home residents, primary and secondary school pupils, elderly groups and ethnically diverse communities across South Lanarkshire and Glasgow.
Alongside larger strategic investments, National Lottery funding supports grassroots organisations directly through National Lottery Awards for All. This programme is managed by the Community Fund and supported and funded by both sportscotland and Creative Scotland. This programme enables local sports clubs and community organisations to access smaller grants that can make a significant difference to local participation opportunities. Funding is frequently used to purchase equipment, support volunteers, improve accessibility, create welcoming environments and remove barriers to participation. Awards for All provides an important route for community organisations to access funding that is responsive to local priorities and community needs.
An additional £2.2m National Lottery Awards for All funding to support sports, arts and community activity inspired by Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games was also delivered this year. Working in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF) and Creative Scotland, 146 applications for funding were received. To date, 118 awards with a value of £953,205, have been allocated with sportscotland giving 24 awards totalling £112,605.
It is worth noting that sport is a significant beneficiary of the overall investment as with the 90 projects that received investment from TNLCF, 9 projects were out and out sport projects and a further 39 projects have some element of sport & physical activity in them meaning 50% of the projects that TNLCF are funding are helping develop sport.
Our actual investment figure into sport clubs through Awards for All is 128 awards totalling £563,430 so far this year (Annual budget is £1.5m). Funding which is going direct to the heart of communities like the Midlothian Community Action (Dalkeith) received £8,778 to deliver a one-year intergenerational project bringing together 15 young people (aged 14-25) and 40 older adults living in sheltered housing. Through physical activity, games and volunteering inspired by the Commonwealth Games, the project aims to improve wellbeing, reduce social isolation, and strengthen connections between generations within the local community.
National Lottery funding also supports individuals directly through the sportscotland Athlete Personal Award (SAPA) programme. SAPA provides financial support to athletes to help reduce barriers associated with training and competition costs. These investments help talented athletes progress while also inspiring communities and future generations. For example, ahead of the Winter Olympics in 2026, five athletes shared £30,000 of National Lottery investment to cover additional training, competition and living expenses to help in their goal to represent team GB at Minal Cortina.
And 43 athletes from eight sports who were preparing for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games also shared £210k of National Lottery funding from the SAPA programme. All 14 bowlers and para bowlers selected for Team Scotland at Glasgow 2026 received SAPA funding including former medallist Alex Marshall. He said: “Support from the sportscotland athlete personal award has been really important during our preparations. There’s obviously a lot to juggle and a lot of travelling involved to compete in all the events so having a bit of extra help for that has been great, it allows us to give full focus to our preparations for the Games.”
This latest round of funding means the SAPA programme has awarded over £2.2million of National Lottery funding to athletes since its inception for the Olympics and Paralympics in London in 2012. Nearly 350 high-performance athletes and coaches aiming to make their mark in summer or winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the Commonwealth Games have benefited from the scheme. The impact of this approach can be seen clearly in communities across Scotland.
One example is sportscotland's investment associated with the Orkney 2025 International Island Games. Through National Lottery funding, sportscotland supported facilities, equipment, coach development and athlete pathways, contributing to a wider legacy investment of more than £1.8 million across multiple sports. Local clubs received funding awards, including Orkney Gymnastics Club who received £78,600 for new equipment, and Orkney Athletics Club which received £18,084 for new high jump equipment and associated storage. The evaluation of this funding found that these investments are creating long-term opportunities for participation, strengthening clubs, developing coaches and officials, and supporting athlete development in one of Scotland's island communities. The report also demonstrates how National Lottery funding can leave a lasting legacy through investment in people, places and infrastructure.
We also work collaboratively with organisations to ensure funding goes further. For example, the ‘Get Active Scotland Fund’ which brings together London Marathon Foundation, sportscotland, Glasgow Life and High Life Highland. The partnership is built around a shared ambition to improve health and wellbeing support those who are least active, with particular attention to communities affected by deprivation and rurality. This is a two-year partnership investment of £1.4 million, with £700,000 committed in each year across cash and in-kind contributions. London Marathon Foundation and sportscotland are the largest contributors, each committing £500,000 over two years, with Glasgow and Highland each contributing £200,000. This blended investment model provides a strong platform for local delivery, shared learning and future programme development.
In Glasgow, the fund has supported 79 community-led sport and physical activity projects during 2025-2026, totalling £265,471 invested to date. Funding has reached all areas of the city, including 22 out of 23 council wards, and several citywide initiatives. Funded projects are supporting a wide range of target groups, including communities experiencing socio-economic disadvantage, ethnically diverse communities, women and girls, young people, disabled people, older adults and people experiencing barriers linked to health, confidence or inactivity. One example of a funded project is the St Matthews Centre used the Get Active Funding to develop Women’s Only dance in Possilpark, one of the most deprived areas in the city. With 35 women engaged in the project from a diverse range of backgrounds, the activities have brought new participants into physical activity through friendly, accessible dance in their community.
Our experience demonstrates that National Lottery funding is most effective when decisions are informed by local knowledge and delivered through trusted local networks. National distributors provide accountability, expertise and strategic leadership, while local partners provide insight into community needs and the flexibility to respond accordingly. The key is in the strength of these collaborations and partnership working. Nothing can be done in isolation and as the national agency for sport in Scotland this way of working is how our local communities benefit best from national lottery funding. Together, this ensures funding reaches communities in ways that are meaningful, impactful and sustainable.
As Government considers the future of National Lottery Good Causes funding, sportscotland would again highlight how our approach to distribution of funding has a demonstrable route direct to communities with a focus on:
Protecting the principle of additionality.
Ensuring funding reaches communities directly and delivers tangible local benefits.
Supporting investment in rural, remote and island communities alongside urban areas.
Maintaining flexibility for distributors to work through trusted local and national partners.
Supporting both grassroots activity and long-term system development.
Investing in facilities, volunteers, community organisations and local infrastructure that create sustainable impact.
Through our investments in governing bodies, local authorities, community sport hubs, national partners, facilities, grassroots organisations and athlete support programmes, National Lottery funding is already delivering substantial benefits to communities in every part of the country.
Future policy should build on these strengths. Protecting additionality, maintaining investment through experienced distributors and continuing to empower local communities to shape delivery will ensure National Lottery funding continues to support what matters most to people and communities across Scotland and the wider UK.