Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 9:39 pm on 7 April 1998.
I assure the hon. Gentleman that the last thing in my mind is to interfere with him.
The Prime Minister's own words set out the criteria for the lottery. He said:
We don't believe it would be right to use Lottery money to pay for things which are the Government's responsibilities.
If they are the Government's responsibilities, they should not be paid for by the lottery. If the hon. Gentleman is arguing that such matters are the responsibility of central Government, they should be paid for by central Government funding.