Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) Independent Press Standards Organisation and (b) Royal Charter on press self-regulation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Independent and effective self-regulation of the press empowers the public to have trust in what is reported, which is vital to a strong and functioning democracy.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a statutory gambling levy on funds available to charities who operate a charity lottery.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are in the early stages of the new Government and are still considering the full range of gambling and lotteries policy.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of regulating commercial free prizes draws as a gambling product.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are in the early stages of the new Government and are still considering the full range of gambling and lotteries policy.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to bring forward proposals for a statutory gambling levy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises the changes to the gambling landscape since 2005 and that while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences.
As stated in the Government's manifesto, we are absolutely committed to reducing gambling-related harm. We will ensure responsible gambling and strengthen protections for those at risk.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what data her Department holds on the funding raised for good causes by (a) the National Lottery and (b) society lotteries in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Lottery has raised over £49 billion for good causes since 1994. In the last five years, over £6 billion of funding and 120,000 grants were delivered by distributor bodies.
The National Lottery grants database which details the allocations made, is publically available at https://nationallottery.dcms.gov.uk/charts.
Data regarding society lottery good causes funding is updated annually by the Gambling Commission. In 2022/23, society lotteries raised £421.72 million for good causes.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has received representations from charities on annual sale limits for society lotteries.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations.
In 2020, the annual sales limit was increased from £10 million to £50 million as part of a wider package of changes to society lottery limits.
My department continues to work closely with the Gambling Commission to monitor society lotteries and the charities they support.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to remove the annual sale limits for society lotteries.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations.
In 2020, the annual sales limit was increased from £10 million to £50 million as part of a wider package of changes to society lottery limits.
My department continues to work closely with the Gambling Commission to monitor society lotteries and the charities they support.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to ensure that commercial free prizes draws are free to enter by digital means.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Prize competitions and free prize draws are not subject to statutory regulatory control under the Gambling Act 2005. However, they must comply with the requirement in the Act to offer a free entry route for participation by post and/or offer paid entries online, in order to avoid being considered as an illegal lottery. Whilst the Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities for these products, it does monitor the boundary between them and lotteries.
Prize draw operators must also comply with relevant consumer protection legislation.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee report on What next for the National Lottery?, published on 22 November 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of that report's recommendation that individual society lotteries should be able to set their own prizes, up to a limit of £500,000.
Answered by Paul Scully
The maximum prize for a society lottery draw was increased in July 2020 from £400,000 to £500,000 as part of a wider package of changes to society lottery limits. We are carefully considering the Committee's recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to support charity lottery fundraising.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations, and I am very appreciative of the role they play in supporting such a wide range of sectors. Large society lotteries raised a record £367 million for good causes between April 2019 and March 2020. Society lotteries are regulated under a different framework to the National Lottery and are exempt from paying Lottery Duty.
Reforms to society lotteries came into effect in July 2020, including significant increases in the sales limits, raising the limit for a single draw from £4 million to £5 million and the annual sales limit from £10 million to £50 million. I am pleased that since these changes we have started to see more lottery proceeds going to good causes, as the aim of these reforms was to enable both society lotteries and the National Lottery - often seen as complementary sources of income - to thrive.