National Lottery Bill

I begin by thanking the Minister for his conduct of the debate on the important subject of additionality. I also thank him for the praise that he heaped on me—for my helpfulness and consideration and the way in which I took account of all the discussions in Committee and other places. I thank him, too, for the meeting that he held today with the chief executives of the lottery distributors. However, on 14 June last year on the Floor of the House, the Minister—nobody else—said that"““additionality was an important principle that should be embodied in future legislation.””—[Official Report, 14 June 2005; Vol. 435, c.168.]" He did not say that we should get assurances from all sorts of people outside and include nothing about it in the measure. I welcome the fact that he has got those assurances—that constitutes huge progress—but I believe that what he said in June last year was right. We need the principle to be embodied in the legislation.