The Tote (Hansard, 18 July 1996)

§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)

We announced last year that we intend to carry out a review of the options for the future of the Tote in a way which preserves the extent to which racing benefits from the Tote's activities.

Since that time our officials have been carrying out preparatory work, including informal consultations with a number of interested parties. The conclusion which we have drawn from this preliminary work is that those options which involve changing the existing statutory framework might put at risk the contribution which the Tote makes to racing.

We have concluded that, pending further work on these issues, we should end the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Tote by retaining the present statutory framework for the present. In reaching this conclusion we have had regard to the wish of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) to take on responsibility for the Tote. However, while it is the representative body of racing, transfer of a public asset to a private body such as the BHB raises complex issues which are unlikely to be settled in the short term.

We are laying in the Library a brief explanatory note about the Tote and the issues which have led to this conclusion.

We intend to begin very shortly the search for a new chairman to take on responsibility for the organisation and to work with racing when Lord Wyatt retires in April 1997. The post will be advertised. In view of the importance of the Tote to racing, we intend to consult the BHB and other interested parties about the appointment and the responsibilities of the post so far as is consistent with the statute and the code of practice on public appointments.

The new chairman will be tasked both with supporting racing and with conducting a wide-ranging review of the Tote's operations. We would expect them to pursue further the improvements in efficiency the Tote has made in recent years. The Government will wish to return to the issue of the Tote's status in the future.

The Government wish to enhance further their working relationship with the horseracing industry. We have therefore accepted a proposal from the Chairman of the British Horseracing Board that he should personally select a small horseracing advisory group who will meet with my honourable friend the Minister of State, Mr. Kirkhope, from time to time to discuss the general state of and key issues affecting the horseracing industry. The group will complement, not replace the 70WA established arrangements for regular communication between government and the industry.

My noble friend Lord Wakeham has agreed to select the group, to which appointments will be personal, not formally representative of any particular interest, by the autumn and we look forward to a first meeting later in the year.