Orders of the Day — National Lottery Bill [Lords]

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 9:39 pm on 7 April 1998.

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Photo of Mr Tony Banks Mr Tony Banks Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Sport), Department for Culture, Media & Sport, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of National Heritage/Department for Culture, Media and Sport)) (Sport) 9:39, 7 April 1998

It is not sophistry; they are carefully crafted words. If the Government used lottery money instead of spending a block of public expenditure, we would be breaching additionality rules, which we are not prepared to do—there is no question of our replacing mainstream Government money.

I have studied the grants to the constituency of the right hon. Member for Horsham— they are good. Worth Abbey lay community is providing a week-long programme of residential counselling and support for teenagers who are in crisis because of alcohol or drug misuse. The grant is provided over two years, which is perfectly okay. But one could argue that it should be provided by central Government funding; it is not being provided by central Government funding, so it is right that—