The Government recognises the vital importance of National Lottery funding for the arts and culture, and remains fully committed to supporting these sectors.

Through our Call for Evidence on National Lottery good cause funding we are gathering evidence on how funding can best reflect modern priorities, empower communities to give them a greater voice, and how we simplify the system to reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency.

Following closure of the review on 23 September 2026, the Government will analyse all responses received, and respond in due course.

Gambling Commission employees are Public Servants and therefore are not bound by the Civil Service Code. The Gambling Commission has its own Employee Code of Conduct which reflects public service principles.

The Gambling Commission hope to have completed the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive by the end of the calendar year.

The Government is acutely aware of the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families, and is committed to strengthening protections for those at risk. We are also committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed.

As part of the 2025 Budget, the Treasury announced that the Gambling Commission will receive an additional £26 million across three years to increase investment, resources and capacity to tackle the illegal market. In addition, the Crime and Policing Act, which received Royal Assent in April 2026, enables the Commission to apply for new powers to obtain orders to suspend internet protocol addresses and internet domain names linked to illegal gambling.

We launched the Illegal Gambling Taskforce at the beginning of this year which brings together a wide range of stakeholders to take action against the illegal market. We are also consulting on banning physical manifestations of unlicensed gambling sponsorships and advertising in Great Britain across all sectors, including sport.

DCMS is taking a number of steps to ensure there are a variety of national forums through which young people are consulted and involved in decisions that affect them. Too many young people feel that their voice does not matter and this needs to change. The ‘Seen and Heard’ chapter of Youth Matters sets out our ambitions to put young people in the driving seat and give them more opportunities to influence policy locally, regionally and nationally. Some examples are as follows:

Firstly, the department is creating a new ‘Youth Policy Network’ to ensure that whichever part of the government is making decisions, if they affect young people, a diverse range of young people can take part.

Secondly, the department continues to work closely with a Youth Advisory Group on the delivery of Youth Matters, and previous members play a key role as ambassadors.

Thirdly, to hold the government accountable, the department will invite a diverse group of young people to run an annual national hearing on the Strategy's delivery.

Alongside this, DCMS youth funding programmes are required to be co-designed with young people. We are also working closely with young people and partners to co-design our approach to youth participation in democracy and decision-making. Outcomes of this engagement with young people will be shared in the Autumn.

The National Lottery Community Fund (‘TNLCF’) has not spent any funds on public affairs services provided by Lexington Communications since July 2024. Since this date, TNLCF has spent £41,725 (excluding VAT) on research services provided by Lexington Communications. This research enables TNLCF to report on key performance indicators linked to its Corporate Plan.

The National Lottery continues to lead the gambling sector with robust, industry-leading consumer protections and consistently low rates of gambling-related harm.

The Gambling Commission actively monitors rates of gambling-related harm and provides regular updates to DCMS on trends related to the National Lottery. There are currently no plans to change payment methods for in-person National Lottery play.

The Government recognises the important contribution that greyhound racing makes to Britain's cultural heritage, sporting landscape and economy.

The Department has not made a separate assessment of the economic and social contribution of greyhound racing in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland individually.

The most recent information available to the Department is provided by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). According to GBGB, greyhound racing contributes approximately £166 million annually to Britain's GDP, around £52 million to the Exchequer, and supports approximately 5,400 jobs across Great Britain.

The Government continues to engage regularly with the greyhound racing industry, including the GBGB, on issues relating to the sustainability, welfare and future development of the sport.

The National Lottery Community Fund (‘TNLCF’) does not have any staff at Rodwell Tower Piccadilly.

TNLCF has 47 staff assigned to The Hive, 51 Lever Street. In the most recent working week for which figures were available, 21 desk bookings were recorded. This is equivalent to an average of 44.7% of the 47 assigned staff attending the local office during that week.

This figure is based on desk booking data, which is the only attendance measure currently captured. Meeting rooms at the site are also used but are not subject to the same data collection. Total attendance at the local office may, therefore, be higher than desk bookings alone suggest.

As a community funder, with an intentionally place-based and distributed workforce model, staff being assigned to an office does not equate to an expectation that they will attend five days a week. TNLCF encourages its staff to work within the communities they serve, to better connect with and understand the places that they work.

The Government is committed to strengthening young people’s participation in democratic processes and decision-making. Through the Be Seen and Heard chapter of Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy, we set out our ambition to strengthen young people’s participation in decision-making at both national and local levels.

This Government has committed to lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections, ensuring young people have the information and support they need to participate fully in the democratic process, and establishing new Youth Councils across England. We will also test and learn from different approaches to involving young people in local funding decisions.

Over the summer, my Department has worked directly with young people and the youth sector to understand what support young people need to influence decisions at both national and local levels. Their views will inform the development of our youth empowerment programmes and help ensure that young people can participate meaningfully as more decisions are taken closer to local communities.

My Department is also supporting the UK Youth Parliament during 2026/27. This provides young people from across the UK with opportunities to represent their peers, campaign on the issues that matter to them, and make their voices heard by decision-makers, including through its annual sitting in the House of Commons.

Loneliness is not just an individual struggle; it is a national challenge that we must solve together. Through our cross-government Social Connection For All programme, we are supporting those most at risk of loneliness, including older people, so everyone has the social connections they need to thrive.

The £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund funded over 80 projects across all nine regions of England, helping people get online safely and with confidence.

Funding was distributed broadly evenly across the regions, with each receiving between 10% - 13% of funded projects (approximately 17 - 23 projects as some projects span multiple regions). A number of these organisations focused on rural areas, such as Rural Media Charity, who supported older adults to improve confidence and access to online services in rural West Midlands communities.

The £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund funded over 80 projects across all nine regions of England, helping people get online safely and with confidence.

Funding was distributed broadly evenly across the regions, with each receiving between 10% - 13% of funded projects (approximately 17 - 23 projects as some projects span multiple regions). A number of these organisations focused on rural areas, such as Rural Media Charity, who supported older adults to improve confidence and access to online services in rural West Midlands communities.

The Government is committed to ensuring that digital services are accessible and inclusive to everyone, including disabled people.

GOV.UK guidance is owned and managed by government departments and organisations. They have a legal duty to consider everyone’s needs when designing and delivering information and services, and to meet the requirements of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations and the Government Service Standard.

DCMS has no plans to make changes to the 4th National Lottery Licence.

In line with the approach taken for preparing for previous licences, planning for future operations will be considered at an appropriate time, in accordance with public procurement policy and best practice.

Everyone in every community should benefit from technology but we know some people face real barriers.

That’s why in 2025 we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, helping over a million people get online and benefitting communities across the UK through the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund. A significant proportion of funded projects supported older people.

Government is also clear that digital services should work for everyone, including access through offline routes to essential public services.

As of 1 September 2026 there is one remaining project to complete construction from the YIF main fund (out of 252 projects) and 21 projects to complete through the modern methods of construction pipeline (out of 24 projects).

Investing in youth services and youth work has a strong social benefit leading to decreased crime, improved health and increased employment for young people.

In the Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy we set out our commitment to developing and growing a skilled and sustainable paid and volunteer youth sector workforce. To achieve this, we are investing £15 million over the next 3 years in youth workers, volunteers, and other trusted adults to upskill the existing youth sector workforce and increase the number of trusted adults providing safe support to young people.

DCMS funds the National Youth Agency (NYA) to oversee professional standards, qualifications and workforce development for the sector. To ensure a sufficiently qualified and supported youth sector workforce, DCMS funding enables the NYA to maintain youth work qualifications, national standards and curriculum; conduct a youth work organisation census; and maintain a register of qualified youth workers.

The NYA is also leading reforms to youth work qualifications through the development of a new Standard Qualification Framework for Youth Work, due for launch in the autumn. These reforms will create more flexible and accessible routes into youth work, strengthen progression and access from Levels 1 to 6, including enhanced Level 3 more flexible entry pathways and routes into higher-level and degree-level qualifications.

To help remove financial barriers for individuals, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to gain accredited qualifications, DCMS is also continuing to fund the Youth Worker Bursary Fund during this financial year. Since 2019, DCMS has funded 4071 individuals to undertake a Level 2, 3 or 4 qualifications in youth work with 850 enrolled in courses due to complete by 2027.

DCMS does not hold empirical data to provide assured information on where those leaving youth work end up. The NYA collects limited workforce intelligence through its Youth Workforce Census and stakeholder engagement activities, although this does not provide comprehensive data on destinations for those leaving the profession.

Investing in youth services and youth work has a strong social benefit leading to decreased crime, improved health and increased employment for young people.

In the Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy we set out our commitment to developing and growing a skilled and sustainable paid and volunteer youth sector workforce. To achieve this, we are investing £15 million over the next 3 years in youth workers, volunteers, and other trusted adults to upskill the existing youth sector workforce and increase the number of trusted adults providing safe support to young people.

DCMS funds the National Youth Agency (NYA) to oversee professional standards, qualifications and workforce development for the sector. To ensure a sufficiently qualified and supported youth sector workforce, DCMS funding enables the NYA to maintain youth work qualifications, national standards and curriculum; conduct a youth work organisation census; and maintain a register of qualified youth workers.

The NYA is also leading reforms to youth work qualifications through the development of a new Standard Qualification Framework for Youth Work, due for launch in the autumn. These reforms will create more flexible and accessible routes into youth work, strengthen progression and access from Levels 1 to 6, including enhanced Level 3 more flexible entry pathways and routes into higher-level and degree-level qualifications.

To help remove financial barriers for individuals, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to gain accredited qualifications, DCMS is also continuing to fund the Youth Worker Bursary Fund during this financial year. Since 2019, DCMS has funded 4071 individuals to undertake a Level 2, 3 or 4 qualifications in youth work with 850 enrolled in courses due to complete by 2027.

DCMS does not hold empirical data to provide assured information on where those leaving youth work end up. The NYA collects limited workforce intelligence through its Youth Workforce Census and stakeholder engagement activities, although this does not provide comprehensive data on destinations for those leaving the profession.