Local authorities' role in distributing the lottery to sport

As local authorities' budgets for recreation have been reduced, the National Lottery represents a new source of capital funding. But lottery applications, whether from local authorities directly or from voluntary sports clubs in their areas, must meet the Sports Council criteria. Thus the allocation of lottery money is not as directly under local authorities' control as was allocation of their own budget. This paper explores how, through selective support of voluntary sports clubs, local authorities can influence the allocation of lottery grants to reflect their own strategic priorities.