Laura Chow: Revise law to give charity lotteries vital boost

A decade of crises, an era of conflict and tragedy with displaced people, high levels of isolation and loneliness and a breakdown in trust. Yet despite 10 years of global chaos there remains one truth – people continue to care.

Ambassador for the People's Postcode Lottery, Danyl Johnson, visits users of the Carers Trust service. Photograph: Getty

They care about their community, they fret and worry about the next generation and, in particular, about our planet. And we have a resilient and determined Third Sector to back them.

So many charities throughout the UK and across the globe have endured a torrid time following the 2008 financial crash and year after year of austerity. Public sector cuts – mainly local authorities having to rationalise – led to a greater focus on statutory duties while many of the services we count on have been picked up by charities stepping in to fill the gap.

Last year in Scotland four out of five people used a third sector organisation – although, remarkably, only a quarter were even aware that they had.

And now, in the final throes of Brexit, countless charities are facing the threat that millions in EU funding may be cut.

Those EU cuts will force charities to turn to new income streams, even the smallest, locally-run organisations will feel competition grow. The impact may even be felt by the very people in communities who came together to address their own needs during the years of austerity, including some in Scotland, where 78 per cent of charities are local.

However, even through what history will regard as an age of major financial uncertainty, the third sector, in its quest for fairness and equality, continues to gain public support.

More than one million people volunteered 100 million hours of their time in Scotland last year. We have 250,000 charity trustees across the country and, according to the Charities Aid Foundation Scotland Giving Report, in 2017, across Scotland, people gave an estimated £1.2 billion to charity, 48 per cent more than the year before.

At People’s Postcode Lottery, we have strict selection criteria for good causes to be supported. Trust is key to these long-term relationships which focus on transparency, honesty, integrity and mutual dependence. We trust our beneficiary organisations to put our players’ funds to the best possible use year after year.

Since launching 13 years ago, People’s Postcode Lottery has awarded £382 million to good causes. The figure rises substantially each month.

Funding comes through 18 grant-giving trusts and People’s Postcode Lottery operates society lotteries for 29 other good causes. A decade ago 20 per cent of ticket sales went to good causes but that percentage has now risen to 32 per cent. Players sign up with their postcode and pay £10 a month to be automatically entered into every draw. Prizes are announced every day of the month.

The majority of our funding, in addition to being long-term, is unrestricted. We believe charities are experts in their fields and know where funds can be used best. Charities supported choose how to spend the money they receive.

However, charity lotteries are the only type of fundraising which has limits imposed on it by law. People’s Postcode Lottery is working hard to update the legislation.

We want to ensure charities can get the maximum amount of funding possible, which in turn will benefit people, places and charities throughout Scotland and the UK.

This can be achieved with a straightforward change to the current legislation and at no cost to the taxpayer. Following calls on the UK government for reforms to the legislation, their public consultation last year set out their preferred option of a £100m annual sales limit, up from £10m.

The current limit has been in place since 2009 and the government have been considering reforming the current limits for more than five years, so we can expect the new limit – whatever it is set at – to remain in place for some time to come.

Now, with charities facing such a tough funding environment, updating the law on charity lotteries is one sure way for the UK government to get more funds to the charity sector at no cost to either the taxpayer or the Treasury.

Laura Chow is Head of Charities at the People’s Postcode Lottery