National Lottery Bill

moved Amendment No. 7:"Leave out Clause 9." The noble Viscount said: My Lords, this amendment concerns the redistribution of interest. When one tables an amendment in your Lordships’ House, it is always interesting to see what happens and what lobbying one gets from outside. One is always quite surprised by what happens. The CCPR, which calls itself,"““One voice for sport and recreation””," claims that should my amendment be accepted, it would be inadvertently penalised because it would mean that when the Secretary of State allocated interest that has been built up over a period of time, instead of allocating it in the same share as the distribution bodies get it, he would be able to change the allocation. It is saying that because it spends its money quicker and faster than anybody else, it ought to be able, if necessary, to have a larger share of the interest. I find that bizarre. It seems to me that the CCPR ought to be seeking its fair share of the interest, not a larger share. We are not entirely clear why the Government need the power given by this clause to change where the interest goes. It is an issue that we discussed briefly in Committee. If my amendment is accepted, the reallocation would go to the existing bodies as they stand. I do not think this is an area where the Secretary of State needs to be involved. I beg to move.