Arts Council England diverts Lottery funds to core arts funding, risking additionality principle

Beginning in the 2015/16 fiscal year, Arts Council England will reduce core funding for cultural institutions by 2%. Notably, for the first time, Lottery funds will be utilized to bolster regular revenue support, with an anticipated £60 million designated annually for national portfolio organizations from 2015/16 to 2017/18. This change poses a risk to the additionality principle that was established when the National Lottery was introduced, which asserts that Lottery funding should not replace traditional government funding. J.J. Charlesworth brought attention to this concern in the September 2013 edition of ArtReview, as noted by The Stage. The principle explicitly forbids the reduction of existing programs on a case-by-case basis due to Lottery funding.