Clause 11 - Distributing bodies: publicity

Part of National Lottery Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:30 am on 1 November 2005.

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Photo of Don Foster Don Foster Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 10:30, 1 November 2005

The hon. Gentleman is 100 per cent. correct, but, unfortunately, I disagree on one aspect. He said that Governments “could”, implying that they could do that in the future, but it already happens. If, like me, he is an assiduous reader of the annual report of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, he will be aware that it is extremely difficult in that report to disentangle money that has been provided by the lottery for various projects from that which has been provided by the Government from taxpayers’ money. It is not a case of a problem in the future; there is a serious problem now. I have urged the Government to address that problem by much more clearly separating in the Department’s annual report the two funding streams and the uses to which they are put.

My clear concern in the amendments is to ensure that nothing in the Bill will lead lottery distributors to believe that it is right to promote the playing of the various national lottery games. In a minute, the Minister will tell me that I need not be concerned, but I am deeply concerned. At the weekend I logged on to the website of the Big Lottery Fund. Incidentally, the BLF does not yet formally exist but it has a website. It is promoting national lottery day on its homepage:

“National Lottery Day is a celebration of the amazing things achieved with Lottery funding. Get involved!”

What does “get involved” mean? It means get involved in the national lottery. That is one example of promoting the national lottery.