National Lottery withdraws Play England funding
Wednesday May 5th 2010The Big Lottery Fund which uses revenue from the National Lottery withdraws Play England funding much to the dismay of the organisation. Play England was awarded £15 million of National Lottery funding in 2006 to aid local authorities in providing more play opportunities to children and young people in a £155 million Children’s Play initiative across the UK. This Play England lottery funding will continue until March 2011, but will no longer be available after this time, leaving the future of the scheme hanging in the balance.
Considering there has been minimal government funding to such projects in the past and the likely hood of further cuts in the public sector and possibly other areas after the economic downturn, there is virtually no chance of government increasing funding for Play England in the future. This means that the withdrawal of National Lottery funds could prove critical to the future of the organisation. However, the council of Play England remain upbeat and optimistic as they are already actively seeking funding from other sources, to begin once the funding from the National Lottery ceases.
Of course UK lottery players are always mindful when they buy lottery tickets, that they are contributing to a good cause at the same time, but The Big Lottery Funds resources are limited and this often means that funding often has to be prioritised.
The chief executive of London Play describes the withdrawal of National Lottery funding at as ‘devastating’ but describes the impact of Play England as immeasurable and vows to continue supporting the organisation in the future.
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