National Lottery Bill

As ever, it depends on the question which is asked. The distributors will not be asked, ““What is your most desirable No. 1 good, and how can we give you access to the appropriate resources to achieve that?”” We might get a plethora of answers or some that we would find it difficult to square with general public policy. After all, the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, indicated in his illustration the idiosyncrasies of public response on some matters. But there is a list of options, appropriate and specific, for awarding a grant. If such a list were put before the public, they could reach a wholly intelligent, acceptable and meritorious solution to a problem which would otherwise rack the brains of the distributors. The distributors have already engaged in public consultation, to good effect. I cannot see how that could be gainsaid by anyone. But the noble Viscount is indicating an open-ended question where the public would be asked to fill in the blank. That is not consultation as we understand it within the framework of the Bill.