LETTER: National Lottery is a success

Share
+More
Related Topics
Sir: Your leader (11 April) about the National Lottery raises important issues about regulation and distribution of money to good causes.

Parliament decided on the distribution of money to good causes. Already the distributing bodies have made over 5,500 awards to projects the length and breadth of the country. As the number of awards increase, I will continue to keep under review the rules which allow the benefits of the National Lottery to be felt by people in every community.

I have already made changes to the rules on distribution. On 1 April I announced that lottery money could be used, for the first time, on developing the talents and potential of people such as talented athletes and sports people and individual performers and young artists.

The UK lottery is one of the most effectively regulated lotteries in the world. Parliament is the ultimate regulator. The National Audit Office, the Public Accounts Committee and the National Heritage Select Committee have all scrutinised various aspects of the organisation, regulation and distribution of lottery funds. It is wrong to say that there has been little or no monitoring or research on the National Lottery. Oflot has conducted research using four different organisations over the last ten months.

Government research shows that the average household spent pounds 2.10 per week after prizes in the first year of the lottery. This compares with an average weekly spend of over pounds 5 on cigarettes and over pounds 12 on alcohol.

This does not suggest excessive participation. But there will be further research, and I will continue to monitor the results of that work, taking appropriate action if it is justified.

In an extremely short period of time, the National Lottery has become the most dynamic national institution in Britain. It is the most successful of its kind in the world. It devotes one of the highest proportions of proceeds to good causes, and one of the lowest to running costs. I intend to ensure that it remains a success.

Virginia Bottomley

Secretary of State for

National Heritage

Department of

National Heritage

London SW1

React Now

iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

Senior Employment Solicitor - Birmingham

Excellent Package: Austen Lloyd: This is a senior appointment with huge potent...

Teaching Programme Officer with Qualified Teacher Status

£28000 - £31500 per annum + benefits: Randstad Education Newcastle: Permanent ...

SAP FI-CA Consultant - up to £58k

£50000 - £58000 per annum + Benefits and Bonus: Progressive Recruitment: SAP F...

PHP/ Drupal Developer - £35k - WC

£30000 - £40000 per annum + BENS: Progressive Recruitment: Drupal Developer A ...

Day In a Page

Read Next
 

Austerity has hardened the nation's heart

Yasmin Alibhai Brown
Questions: Eric Schmidt is lying low after the PAC branded his firm 'devious'  

The moral case on tax avoidance is overwhelming - and we all know Google wants to do the right thing

Owen Jones
The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...