Mr Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)

I beg to move amendment No. 302, in clause 92, page 42, line 11, after 'ticket', insert 'or chance'.

Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet, Conservative)

With this it will be convenient to consider the following amendments: No. 303, in clause 92, page 42, line 12, after 'ticket', insert 'or chance'.

No. 304, in clause 92, page 42, line 17, leave out subsections (5) and (6).

No. 305, in clause 92, page 42, line 32, leave out 'sixth' and insert 'fourth'.

Mr Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)

This, for us, is an important group of amendments. It relates to problems that have been drawn to my attention, particularly by a number of hospices that run so-called ticketless lotteries as a fundraising activity. The hospices are deeply concerned that the Bill will undermine their ability to operate ticketless lotteries and will place significant additional administrative burdens on them, making it difficult to continue to raise the sums that they do.

The Committee will be aware that many hospices do incredible work with relatively little direct Government support. They therefore rely heavily on their own fundraising activities, and anything that undermines their ability to raise funds could undermine their work. There is genuine concern that the Bill may tie many ticketless lotteries run by hospices in a great deal of red tape, and the issue would affect at least 100 membership lotteries.

Section 11(2) in part 11 of the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 allows membership lotteries to sell a ''ticket or chance'', but clause 92(5) of the Bill   refers only to ''a ticket'', which, as a mandatory requirement, ''must be a document''. The provision throws into doubt the system for many of the membership lotteries such as that run by Ty Hafan children's hospice in Wales, under which they supply a letter and a receipt confirming entry into the lottery, but do not supply a ticket each and every week for which individuals pledge to enter the lottery. Ty Hafan has said that if the Bill is passed in its current form

''the future viability of the hospice is threatened''.

That is how serious it thinks the Bill's implications might be. Many membership lotteries that have contacted me share that concern and believe that the Bill will force them to change their administrative arrangements significantly.

The Bill will therefore create a problem, because it will add to the administrative costs of society lotteries. It would lead to hospice managers and their staff being treated as if they were bureaucrats rather than carers for the terminally ill, and it suggests that society lotteries would be forced to act more as if they were commercial—it would remove the assumption of trust. The matter was raised in a recent industry liaison group by the National Lottery Commission, which reported that the DCMS acknowledged that it could be a problem, but so far the Government have failed to draft an amendment. Our amendments would reinstate the concept of buying a chance in a lottery. Amendments Nos. 302 and 303 are important in that regard, and, depending on the Minister's response, we might be inclined to vote on the issue.

Amendment No. 304 is merely a probing amendment, seeking clarification of what the Minister means by ''a document'', and of how the requirements in subsections (5) and (6) will affect society lotteries. It is important for the Minister to clarify whether a one-off letter will be sufficient documentation to prove entry into society lotteries, and to place on the record that the Bill will allow society lotteries to continue to do their excellent work without any extra burdens being placed on them.

Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the matter of ticketless lotteries; representatives of the Welsh hospice lottery have been in touch with my officials on that very subject. The question requires further thought because, naturally, we do not want to subject any hospice lottery to the cost and inconvenience of unnecessarily printing many thousands of tickets on a weekly basis. That would be stupid and we are considering ways to avoid it. In particular, we are exploring with parliamentary counsel the possibility that one letter or ticket may be used for multiple entry into a lottery.

Mr Bob Russell (Shadow Minister (Culture, Media & Sport), Culture, Media & Sport; Colchester, Liberal Democrat)

Will the Minister confirm that what he is saying about hospice lotteries would apply to any lotteries run on the same basis by a whole variety of sporting organisations?

Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)

That is right. I am referring to hospice lotteries because the Welsh hospice lottery raised the issue with us, but the general principle will apply.

We are fully aware of the important contributions that lotteries make to the successful running of hospices and the other charities that the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) mentioned. We recognise that lotteries are a popular way of raising money for charities and good causes. We want to ensure that hospices can be certain that they will continue to benefit from lottery funding. The Bill will protect genuine charity lotteries and ensure that they can continue to collect money for good causes.

The word ''document'' means paper and electronic entries of whatever type or format. We will clear that up in time, and in light of what I have said and our consultation with the counsel, we will address the points raised by the hon. Member for Bath and clarify the situation.

Mr Malcolm Moss (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; North East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)

The problem is not with the documentation—the Minister has explained how that may be covered—but with the fact that each time a lottery is run, a separate ticket must be issued. If counsel could find a way for one document to provide the number for a series of draws, the problem would be solved.

Mr Richard Caborn (Minister of State (Sport and Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Sheffield Central, Labour)

We are looking at that issue. The object of the exercise is to make it as simple as possible for charities to run such lotteries, but equally, to provide the protection covered in clause 92(5). We will consult counsel. We have heard what has been said, and we will try to respond positively to allay the fears of the charities that have made representations to us.

Mr Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)

Without seeming too boastful, I am grateful that after less than half an hour I have been promised three postcards in a row. I am extremely grateful to the Minister; it is clear that he has understood the problems. I am delighted that he is willing to find a way forward and that the Government want to ensure that an additional burden is not placed on the charity lotteries. Given his assurance that he will come back to us with amendments to solve the problem, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 92 ordered to stand part of the Bill.