National Lottery Bill

My Lords, I must disagree with the noble Lord about the Big Lottery Fund not considering the English regions. It is clear that they will have a strong regional presence with offices in nine English regions, whose primary role will be outreach work, and a national committee for the Reaching Communities programmes. Generally, the needs of the English regions will be looked at in considering all of the different programmes—some of them wide and strategic—that the fund is going to pull together. It also, for example, has ring-fenced funding for certain areas. So, while it may not be apparent from the minutes, I know from my dealings with colleagues in the Big Lottery Fund that they have given quite strong consideration to regional elements. No one would dispute that that is entirely right; there should be a strong regional presence. Perhaps the noble Lord, Lord Shutt, is actually talking about regional decision-making on funding. I suggest that that has problems, though it is a beguiling thought. The Community Fund had many problems with it in practice, in terms of costs and inconsistent decision-making, and the dissatisfaction with that. I submit that the arrangements that the BLF is making to consider the needs of English regions are adequate and will become even stronger as their programmes roll out.