Draft Gambling Act 2005 (Variation of Monetary Limits) Order 2020

David Linden Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2020 General Committees

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms McDonagh. I want to make it clear that the Scottish National party will not oppose the statutory instrument. Fundamentally, lotteries can provide money for good causes, but it is important always to consider gambling through the prism of public health. For too long, the liberalisation of gambling policy has been allowed free rein; so often, it is communities such as my own in Glasgow East that have paid the price. Thankfully, there is a unanimous view across the House that the liberalisation of the Gambling Act 2005 has been a disaster for many communities, so I am glad that there is a wider review of that legislation. It is a testament to the hard work of the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) and the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) that we have got to that stage, and I welcome it.

The statutory instrument will see local charities benefit from higher grants, which I very much welcome and the Scottish National party supports. The people’s postcode lottery was kind enough to send a briefing. I spoke earlier about the importance of grants for local charities; organisations in my own constituency have benefited, such as St Timothy’s primary school, Belvidere Village Community Group, Young Movers, the Parkhead Youth Project, the Men’s Health Forum and Connect Community Trust. They all do excellent work, and that is worthy of support.

However, in the ’17-18 financial year, 14 charities in my constituency submitted applications to the people’s postcode lottery, for amounts totalling over £130,000. Those applications could not progress—not because they were not of a very high calibre, but because of the current limits that this statutory instrument seeks to remedy. It is for that reason that the SNP will not oppose it, and I look forward to more groups in my constituency benefiting from funding from the people’s postcode lottery and other lotteries.