§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her policy on linking the value and number of National Lottery constituency awards and constituency deprivation. [129830]
§ Estelle MorrisAll parts of the country should have access to Lottery funds. Many areas suffering wider social and economic deprivation need extra support to develop and put in good applications which are more likely to be successful. The fairshare initiative, bringing together funding from the New Opportunities Fund and Community Fund, specifically seeks to target areas of the UK which were most deprived, and which have not received their 'fair share' of Lottery funding. In addition, the Lottery Funding Decision Document, published in July, contains a number of proposals to make it easier for people to apply for Lottery funding, particularly those in disadvantaged communities. These include the creation of a new distributor, which will focus on improving the quality of life in communities by tackling disadvantage and social exclusion.