National Lottery Reform

Debate between Stephen Gilbert and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Gilbert]

The right hon. Gentleman was a member of the Government who left the country in a situation that meant that some difficult choices had to be made in the negotiations between the two coalition parties. If he lets me finish my remarks he will see that I am trying to encourage my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Government to make the changes as softly as possible.

Backroom staff should be seen as valuable contributors to building the capacity of the sector. Even if a small organisation does not eventually succeed in securing a grant, the recommendations that a distributor makes can improve the operation that it is advising. The risk is that distributors will have to make a few large grants because making lots of small grants becomes too expensive. Small organisations should not lose out as a result of cuts. For that reason, such “hand-holding” should not fall within the definition of administration; I should be grateful if the Minister would address that point.

I have mentioned the PAC’s assessment of Big and its valuable work. My constituency has benefited from around £4.5 million in Big awards since 2004. Some of them are as large as the £1 million given to the Eden project; others are as small as the few hundred pounds offered to war veterans, their families and their carers, so that they could travel to memorial services or the places where they saw active service. There are already many deprived communities around the country and the challenges that they face will not get any easier as we try to get a grip on the country’s miserable financial situation—an unwelcome gift from the previous Administration. Big, and the organisations that it supports, will have an important role in creating opportunities and making such places better places to live. I note that some have received more money than others in the past, and that some—including places in my own constituency—are much more deprived than others. I urge Big to rise to that challenge, and funnel money where it is most needed.

Overall, I welcome the Government’s intention to prevent abuses of lottery money. Lottery funding is not a piggy bank to be dipped into to plug Government spending or fund ministerial pet projects. However, we are concerned that limiting Big to funding the voluntary and community sector only could mean that a lot of good projects miss out. There are concerns that individuals could no longer be funded—such as the veterans I mentioned from my constituency, who were helped by the “Heroes Return” scheme. Sometimes a statutory body, such as a parish council, or a school, may be better placed to implement a project. If the aim, for example, is to reduce antisocial behaviour, and a school can do that by putting on after-school activities, why not give the money to the organisation that is best placed to do that? Biscovey junior school in my constituency received an award to do just that by involving older boys in its choir.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

I respect the hon. Gentleman’s arguments, but is there not a risk that when organisations, such as schools with after-school clubs, try to do more and more activities, it will start to dilute their original purpose? The same is true of a parish council. Perhaps instead voluntary organisations could be allowed into that area to provide different solutions, rather than dealing with things in a state-controlled environment.

[Stephen Gilbert]

It depends on one’s understanding of the big society. My understanding is that we should be encouraging more groups and individuals to participate in creating vibrant, thriving communities; it will depend on the organisations.

I have talked about the need not to exclude the groups that are best able to carry out projects from receiving the money. There are relevant groups benefiting from the 8% of Big funding that does not go to the voluntary and community sector. It makes sense to make the most of what they can offer, rather than shutting them out completely. We might consider some kind of community benefit test. That would achieve our goal of ensuring that lottery money is not being used to plug gaps in local service budgets—I think that was the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) was making—but would still allow Big to fund projects that clearly benefit the community, even if the funding goes to a statutory body, a social enterprise, or an individual. It would have the added advantage of future-proofing Big. When the lottery was first created, we did not anticipate the increasing importance of social enterprises. It is important that any restrictions on Big are flexible enough to enable it quickly to embrace future innovations and changes. I welcome the recent announcements about the big society bank, which will work to enable similar projects, but it seems worth giving the Big Lottery Fund the flexibility also to fund projects in its own way.

There are concerns that voluntary and community organisations could see a reduction in the amount of funding that they receive if Big has its funding capped at 40%. Currently, it receives 50% of all good cause money, of which 46% goes to VCOs. I hope that the Minister can provide some reassurances on this matter, as well as considering the other suggestions that I have made.