National Lottery: Contribution to Good Causes

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

While I understand the legitimate interest of my noble friend and others, it would not be appropriate to comment at this stage on the legal process. The Gambling Commission is confident that it ran a fair and robust competition to award the fourth licence. As my noble friend noted, legal challenges relating to the award of the fourth licence are ongoing. DCMS is not a party to those, so it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, it was reported on Friday that the Gambling Commission had accidentally handed over more than 4,000 sensitive documents to the lawyers acting against it in the case that the noble Lord, Lord Harris of Haringey, mentioned. I know that the Minister cannot mention the ongoing case, but what conclusions have she, as Gambling Minister, and her department drawn about what that says about the Gambling Commission’s competence to perform its oversight functions, and about the appropriate oversight of our regulators by her department?