HC Deb 23 July 1996 vol 282 cc128-9W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the total income received from lottery ticket sales in Cheshire since the start of the national lottery. [36383]

Mr. Sproat

This is a matter for the Director General of the National Lottery. I have therefore asked the director general to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his letter in the Libraries of the House.

Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by county the percentage of lottery tickets purchased in each and the percentage of lottery awards funding received by each since the creation of the national lottery. [37696]

Mr. Sproat

Sales figure are an operational matter for the Director General of the National Lottery who is responsible for regulating the operation of the lottery and I have therefore asked him to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his letter in the Library of the House. The new awards database currently being tested by my Department will soon be able to show the percentage of lottery awards received by each county and I will write to the hon. Member with this information when it is available.

Mr. David Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps she is taking to co-ordinate with other authorities measures to prevent the illegal purchase of national lottery tickets by minors. [38953]

Mr. Sproat

The Secretary of State has directed the director general not to licence games, which, in his opinion, do not have sufficient controls to prevent the participation of young people under the age of 16. In the director general's annual report, laid before the House on 17 July, he details measures he has taken to deal with this issue.

The sale of lottery tickets to minors is illegal. Camelot, as promoter of all lotteries forming part of the national lottery, is responsible for ensuring compliance with the law. My Department has taken part in co-ordination meetings with the other relevant authorities—the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and trading standards organisations—with an enforcement interest in this matter.