Clause 23 - The Fund
Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Bill
3:30 pm
Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)
I want briefly to raise one issue relating to clause 23. It seems to me that it might have been wiser for the Olympic lottery distribution fund to be under the control of the national Olympic committee and the national Paralympic committee jointly, or perhaps the British Olympic Association, rather than the Secretary of State. It did not seem appropriate to table an amendment on that issue, but I wanted to raise it and flag it up. The Minister may have good reasons for ensuring that the Secretary of State has control, but I thought that it was worth briefly raising the idea of taking the whole issue out of the political arena and putting the fund under the control of an Olympic body rather than a Secretary of State. It is not a hugely significant point—had it been so, I would have tabled an amendment—but it is worth asking the Minister to comment briefly on whether the Government have at least considered the possibility of having the fund under the control of an Olympic body rather than the Secretary of State.