§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make lottery money available for medical research. [30297]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerThe distribution of the share of lottery proceeds which is allocated for charitable expenditure is a matter for the National Lottery Charities Board. The board has stated that, in its first grants programme, on which it expects to make awards in October, it is placing a high priority on funding organisations working with people on low incomes and that applications from medical research charities which meet this criterion will be considered by the board in line with these priorities. The board has also said that in addition, applications from medical research charities for other projects will also be considered in the first programme, if the application is for an exceptional project or initiative. The board has yet to announce its priorities for future grant rounds.