National Lottery Bill

The Big Lottery Fund is a new creation, it is not even on the statute book, and it has ambitions to become even bigger. That is the reality of it. My amendment would not, as the Minister says, restrict or shut out other sources of funding for recipients. Quite the reverse: at the moment the distributing bodies jointly fund many projects. I think a large majority of projects in, for example, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, have some form of joint funding. It really would not shut that out. This is different because the Government are asking that money be siphoned through the Big Lottery Fund. If charities were giving the money I would not be so concerned, because they have a choice. However, the Minister said that it could be government money, citing the example of the Home Office. I am afraid I have a suspicious nature when it comes to dealing with the Treasury. I have been there; I have seen it at work. As soon as I see the concept of government money going through the Big Lottery Fund, immediately alarm bells begin to ring. It could be funded one year, but cut the next, with the lottery then being asked to take up the slack. That is always our concern. The Treasury is always trying to find ways of using the lottery to cut its expenditure. I do not think my amendment blocks any form of funding. There may be a compromise and I would have to consider whether it would be on the face of the Bill. The Minister might also consider this. Could we ask the Big Lottery Fund to ensure that, by statute, it accounts for the different sources of funding going through it in its annual report? Apart from money received from the lottery, any money received from government departments or charities should be clearly separate and accounted for, in order that we have clarity and transparency over where the money comes from. I hope the Minister might consider that issue and come back to my noble friend Lord Eccles and myself about whether the Government could do that to help us out. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 24 and 25 not moved.]