National Lottery Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 7:38 pm on 6 February 2006.

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Photo of Lord Davies of Oldham Lord Davies of Oldham Deputy Chief Whip (House of Lords), HM Household, Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords) 7:38, 6 February 2006

My Lords, I think the whole House will have recognised that if the last sentence of the noble Viscount, Lord Astor, is true, we shall have a lively time in Committee—particularly on one or two key concepts. I take delight when blood-curdling threats emerge from the opposition Benches about what they will do in Committee. On this occasion it will not be, as so often happens, a destructive analysis of a government Bill, but they will put their minds to constructive amendments—defining in legislation the concept of additionality, in particular, which I shall discuss in a moment. The Opposition have a hard task ahead of them, and they will have to convince the whole House that they know in legislative terms what they are doing with that concept. We look forward to that constructive aspect on the Bill.

The Government believe that the Bill considers all the issues which are appropriate to the National Lottery against a background of development over more than a decade. I pay tribute early on to the fact that the lottery was born from the work of the previous administration, but I think that it will be recognised that we have moved on considerably. Changes are necessary and the Bill is about the necessary changes.

I thought that the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, was being uncharacteristically ungenerous when he indicated that I had provided all noble Lords with a Bill which was in its pristine state as it emerged from the Commons, without taking account of possible amendments in the Lords. In factual terms, all I could do at that stage was to indicate what the Bill would look like, and does look like until we get further debate.