Clause 29 - The Olympic lottery distributor
Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Bill
9:45 am
Mr Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)
I shall make a small point to the Minister. The Bill makes it clear that there will be an Olympic lottery distributor and the clause refers us to schedule 5, which describes how that will be done. I draw the Minister's attention to paragraph 1(2) of the schedule, which says:
''The Secretary of State shall aim to ensure that the distributor has at least 5 members at any time.''
On page 36 of the regulatory impact assessment, we are clearly told:
''It is the intention that any new Olympic Distributor should be as lean and focused as possible and free from historical baggage.''
We welcome that and the intention that the loss to the Olympic lottery fund through necessary bureaucracy would be minimal. The assessment continues:
''The measure proposes that an initial Board of five members be appointed with specific or relevant expertise.''
Will the Minister provide reassurance that it is the intention to restrict the number of board members to five and to minimise the bureaucracy associated with the board's work, and that the wording in the Bill is to provide for someone being taken ill or any other such event?