The UK government has confirmed a series of reappointments and term extensions to the board of the National Lottery Community Fund, including the return of senior figures across its England, Scotland and Northern Ireland committees.
Richard Collier-Keywood and Dame Helen Stephenson have both been reappointed as Members for further 18-month terms running from 1 July 2026 until 31 December 2027.
Meanwhile, Paul Sweeney has been reappointed as Member and Northern Ireland Chair for a second four-year term from 18 August 2026 until 17 August 2030.
The government also confirmed that the second terms of John Mothersole and Kate Still have both been extended by two years, running until May 2028.
Collier-Keywood currently holds several senior chair and non-executive positions across the education, finance and charitable sectors.
His current roles include Chair of the School for Social Entrepreneurs, Fair4All Finance, New Forest Care and the Welsh Rugby Union.
He also serves on the boards of the Women of the World Foundation, St George’s House and Eversheds Sutherland LLP, and held key positions at Big Four accounting firm PwC between 2008-2017.
Stephenson previously served as Chief Executive of the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and has held senior positions across the Department for Education, Cabinet Office and Big Lottery Fund.
She currently sits on the Board of the Independent Football Regulator, serves as a Trustee of The King’s Foundation and is a Board Member of the ECB Regulatory Board.
Her public service was recognised with a CBE in 2014 and a DBE in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to charity and regulation.
Sweeney brings extensive experience across Northern Ireland’s public and voluntary sectors. During his career within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, he held several senior posts including Permanent Secretary in both the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure, and the Department of Education.
His reappointment comes after the organisation’s announcement last week that Northern Ireland is benefitting from more than £14m in funding from the National Lottery Community Fund’s Strengthening Communities programme.
Mothersole, who served as Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council for 11 years until 2019, continues to hold several advisory and trustee positions across regeneration, education and heritage sectors.
His recent work has included serving as an assessor for the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry and chairing the Nature Towns and Cities Panel.
Still brings more than three decades of experience spanning community development, education, regeneration and grant-making.
In 2024, she was appointed by the Scottish government to lead the independent review of Community Learning and Development, which resulted in the “Learning For All. For Life.” report.