National Lottery

The hon. Gentleman makes a reasonable point. In conclusion,"““We don't believe it would be right to use Lottery money to pay for things which are the Government's responsibilities.””" Those words are not ours, but those of Tony Blair in 1997; as ever, unfortunately, his actions did not live up to his rhetoric. We urge the Government to examine whether it is possible to fund the shortfall, not by the cuts outlined in this measure, but by using the funds that the Big Lottery Fund would have spent on projects that should be funded by central Government Departments.