National Lottery Bill

It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson). One so young, but so brilliant; she is an example to us all. I want to focus on amendment No. 11, because the national lottery should be independent of Government interference. Whatever the Government of the day, the lottery should be free from the political whims and imperatives of the moment. For example—God forbid—the Big Lottery Fund could find itself being directed towards marginal seats in the run-up to a general election. I am sure that the Minister does not want that to happen, but there is no point in having power unless one uses it. The hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire has pointed out that 73 per cent. of people interviewed by ICM in 2004 wanted the lottery to remain independent of the Government, and their voices should be heard. The lottery should be free to decide who receives money. There will always be high profile worthy causes that attract the national lottery’s attention and money, but we are a diverse country, so there will always be minority cases, too. In giving the national lottery the power to award grants, we must remember that mistakes will be made. Such mistakes might not go down well in the national media, and the tabloid press might make a stink; guinea pig farms was one such example cited in Committee. We hear a great deal about asylum seekers and single mothers, but I feel that we, as politicians, are too often led by the tabloid press. Metaphorically speaking, I sometimes think that we should give two fingers to the tabloids and focus on running the country and doing what we think is right, as opposed to chasing headlines and trying to appease people who make a big stink about issues of little importance. If we give the national lottery independence, it will sometimes make unpopular decisions, but that is a price worth paying, and as a politician, I would support it in making such decisions. Independence does not mean this thing called ““The People’s Millions””, whereby the Big Lottery Fund will team up with ITV to have a sort of people’s panel that will vote on which communities get what awards. Those awards will account for £50,000, and perhaps £5 million or £6 million will be given away each year. We are not too short a step away from moving on from that to ITV taking us to a geriatric ward and a children’s ward, and asking voters to decide who gets the money—““Do the kids get to stay in hospital or do we throw the old people out on the street? You, the viewers, decide.”” That is pretty obscene. I have deep problems with the idea of a TV show deciding which communities get what money. As I have said before—I am getting a little repetitive—I do not believe that it should be up to the Minister to direct the Big Lottery Fund on where it should be spending money. That should be a matter entirely for its board. Amendment No. 11 would require the Big Lottery Fund to take account of the Minister’s view but not to comply with it. That would be a step in the right direction. The Big Lottery Fund is in danger of being seen as a body of placemen. After all, the Secretary of State will appoint the chair and all the members and direct them. One could say, ““Let’s just get rid of the Big Lottery Fund and the charade of independence and put all the decisions in the hands of the Secretary of State and her colleagues.””