New Clause 1 - GUIDANCE TO DISTRIBUTING BODIES
National Lottery Bill
9:45 am
Don Foster (Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Culture, Media & Sport; Bath, Liberal Democrat)
Absolutely right. I am grateful to the Minister for providing a wider context. None of that alters the fact that Sir Clive Booth felt it necessary to put in his letter the words that I read out. Earlier, when he first took up the appointment, he said words to the effect of, “The days of Government dictating the five pieces of fruit in schools are over”. I admired him for doing that.
The Minister can say that it is all right, that he applauds it and that he can understand why Sir Clive wrote what he did. The reality is that the Government’s track record is not good in this regard. The current website indicates that they are still not good in this regard. The letter from Sir Clive Booth indicates that there are still concerns. Many other bodies have deep concerns about this matter. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has made it clear that it strongly supports the amendment and feels that there is a need for it. The National Campaign for the Arts has also supported the new clause, stating that it
“is firmly convinced of the need to create a clear distinction between government and Lottery expenditure ... the Bill desperately needs a clause of this sort to halt the slide into using Lottery money to pay for schools and hospitals, which have for decades been the responsibility of government.”