NAVCA is asking its members to take action immediately to defend
funding for local voluntary organisations and community groups in
their area. The threat is very real but we believe there is scope
for us to influence national policy if we act quickly. The
Government is short of at least £900m for the Olympics. Ministers
are fighting over how to fund the Olympics. The Chancellor wants
the National Lottery to provide the money. If this happens the Big
Lottery Fund, Sport England, the Arts Council and the Heritage
Lottery Fund will all lose large amounts of money, much of which
would otherwise go to the local voluntary and community sector.
You will know how much National Lottery funding has meant to
your local groups in recent times. You will also know how important
National Lottery funding will be to your voluntary and community
sector in the future as other sources disappear.
Ideally we would like you to do five things. If you can only do
two of the following, please take actions 4 and 5:
1. Write a letter to Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer,
at the following address telling him that the Government should
fund the Olympics without depriving the National Lottery
distributors of the funds needed to support local voluntary and
community sector activities.
Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
LONDON
SW1A 2HQ
2. Please write also to Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State at the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport at the following address
asking her not to take money away from the National Lottery
distributors in order to support the Olympics.
Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP
Secretary of State
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
LONDON
SW1Y 5DH
3. Please copy any letters you write to Ed Miliband, the Third
Sector Minister in the Office of the Third Sector, and to Dawn
Primarolo the Paymaster General at the Treasury who leads on the
VCS for the Treasury.
Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP
Minister for the Third Sector
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London SW1A 2AS
Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP
Paymaster General
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
LONDON
SW1A 2HQ
4. Perhaps, most importantly, write to your own local MP or MPs
telling them why National Lottery funds are so important for the
people served by voluntary organisations and community groups in
your area. Please put the emphasis on the services, opportunities
and activities which local people will lose as a result of a
dramatic reduction in National Lottery funding.
You can automatically send an email to your MP using
"Voice your views".
5. Would you also ask your local organisations and groups to write
as well to their MP explaining why National Lottery funding is so
important to them. Please encourage them to explain how local
people will suffer as a result of a reduction in National Lottery
funding.
We would not ask you to take these actions if we did not believe
that there was a chance of influencing Government policy. If we can
save £900m for the voluntary and community sector the effort will
be well worthwhile but we will only succeed if the relevant
Ministers Gordon Brown, Tessa Jowell, Ed Miliband and Dawn
Primarolo receive heavy post bags.
We are in touch with NCVO, acevo, bassac, Community Foundation
Network, Directory of Social Change and other national
organisations in an effort to ensure that a very large number of
organisations make representations to Government about this threat
to National Lottery funding.
Please let kevin.curley@navca.org.uk
know if you decide to take action as a result of this request.
Thank you for your help.