Clause 1 - Funding of endowments
National Lottery (Funding of Endowments) Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk, Conservative)
I am pleased to add my voice to those supporting the Bill. First, I apologise for being slightly late because of an urgent extradition matter involving a constituent.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Norfolk on the third attempt to get the Bill on to the statute book, as my right hon. Friend the Member for South-West Norfolk said, and I hope that the Government will support it.
I want to make three comments. First, as my right hon. Friend said, carers play an invaluable role in the community and save the Government a great deal of money. On that basis alone, there is a strong case for doing something for carers as the Bill proposes, because they do so much for the community.
Secondly, the Bill would not require the national lottery grant-making bodies to engage in distribution of endowments. It would simply make that possible, and therefore add to the flexibility of grant-making bodies. It would not detract from them in any way or require them to go in a particular direction.
Thirdly, one of the principal criteria by which grant-making bodies choose which worthy causes to support is sustainability—the long-term difference that a grant would make. There is no reason in principle why the lottery should not be a creator of sustainability. The fact that there has been an omission in the legislation, which has made it impossible for some grant-making bodies to support endowments, has been detrimental to the aim of sustainability. Therefore, this correction to the law—that is all it is—would do much to help carers in Norfolk constituencies and to enhance the underlying
aims of the lottery in promoting sustainability. I support the Bill.