§ Mr. WilshireTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on the safeguards that will be put in place to ensure that local association football clubs will continue to receive grants from the Football Trust; and what alternative funds will be provided from the national lottery. [8312]
§ Mr. Sproat[holding answer 11 December 1996]: The Football trust receives revenue from the spot the ball competition, the home nation football associations and the FA Premier league to help football clubs at all levels. The distribution of grants from these sources is a matter for the Football trust. This money is entirely separate from the pool betting duty concession afforded to the trust to find safety-related works in line with Lord Justice Taylor's report into the Hillsborough disaster for clubs in the FA Premier league, the Football league and the Scottish Football league.
376WThe national lottery has become a major new source of assistance to football at the grass roots and community level—240 football-related projects have received funding of £22 million, making football one of the main beneficiaries of the lottery.