HC Deb 11 May 1995 vol 259 cc577-8W
Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his policy on the extent to which funds from the national lottery should he evenly distributed over the United Kingdom(a) on an annual basis and (b) over a longer period. [23261]

Mr. Dorrell

The net proceeds from the national lottery will be distributed by independent bodies according to the merits of each individual application. The Government have made it clear that they expect to see a fair distribution of lottery proceeds across the United Kingdom taking into account the relative merits of the projects submitted for approval.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage to what extent the organisations to which he gives directions under section 26 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 have regard to previous successful applications when considering subsequent applications from the same area. [23264]

Mr. Dorrell

The 11 bodies responsible for the distribution of the net proceeds of the national lottery will consider all projects on their individual merits.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will require the organisations to which he gives directions under section 26 of the National Lottery etc. Act to publish the criteria they apply in distributing national lottery funds. [23262]

Mr. Dorrell

Under directions issued under section 26(3) of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993, the distributing bodies are obliged to publish and regularly update guidance for potential applicants for grants. Copies of the guidance documents published to date—all of which include the criteria against which they will assess applications—have been placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will review the rules governing the release of information concerning bids for lottery money in so far at this may happen in election periods. [22805]

Mr. Dorrell

There are no special rules to the release of information concerning bids for lottery money during election periods. As is the case throughout the public service, the lottery distributing bodies are expected to take particular care during election periods to ensure that their actions are politically impartial.