New findings on lottery officers

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One in eight councils allocates less than the equivalent of a single full-time job for lottery funding purposes. And three-quarters of lottery officers spend up to half their time carrying out other duties. In fact, being a ‘lottery officer’ is a full-time post in just 6% of councils. These are among the findings of a new UK-wide survey published today by Lottery Monitor – the first of its kind looking specifically at the role and functions of local authority lottery staff.

The survey was conducted in June, to try and gain a clearer picture of how local authorities deal with the complex world of lottery funding. On average, councils share lottery responsibilities among four members of staff, and there is a clear split between those whose lottery function remains in the traditional departmental location of arts, sport and tourism, and others who have put their lottery staff into a corporate context, as part of an external funding, economic development or similar team.

The survey revealed that one-fifth of lottery officers are subject to some kind of performance targets, be they direct financial targets or other, non-financial measures. Only 4% of posts, however, were not wholly council-funded.

Lottery officers are clearly a crucial point of connection between the lottery boards and the voluntary and community sector: 90% play a role in advising community groups about lottery funds. And more than half get involved with bid-writing either with local groups or for their authority.

The relative isolation of the lottery officer’s role is also confirmed by this survey: 39% ‘rarely’ communicate with their counterparts in other councils, and there is a groundswell of support for more networking opportunities.

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Murray Mcdonald