I fully recognise and admire the very good work done by voluntary and charitable organisations and I acknowledge that fund-raising must be a constant source of concern to them. However, the Deputy will appreciate that the question of fund-raising by charitable organisations whether by way of lotteries or other activities is not in the first instance a matter for my Department. While there have been from time to time allegations that charities have seen their lottery sales decline in recent years, it is my understanding that such lotteries represent only a very small proportion of the total funds raised by voluntary organisations.
As Minister responsible for the national lottery, however, I could not accept any proposal which would restrict the growth and development of the national lottery, given that any such move would have severe consequences for the many important programmes which are funded by the national lottery — including, indeed, many voluntary and charitable organisations.
The question of whether funding might be made available to voluntary bodies who could demonstrate that the national lottery had adversely affected their fund-raising is one of a wide range of issues covered by a comprehensive submission from a number of charities which is currently under consideration in my Department. That study is ongoing and I would not be able to express a view on that particular issue pending completion of that study. I hope to be able to respond to the points made by the charities in their submission soon.
