§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action he has taken to increase access to Lottery funds for former coalfield communities in the East Midlands. [62157]
§ Mr. BanksI recognise that certain areas, including coalfields communities, have done less well than others from Lottery funding. My Department hosted a conference in Barnsley on 10 November to discuss how the Lottery can assist in the regeneration of the coalfields. In addition, we are working with the distributors to investigate the reasons for the low take-up of funds in many coalfield areas.
The National Lottery Act 1998 contains a number of measures designed to bring about a fairer and more equitable distribution of funds across all regions and parts of the UK. It requires distributors to examine the needs of their sectors systematically and to draw up strategic plans which reflect those needs and their proposals for addressing them; it gives distributors new powers to encourage specific applications which do not come forward spontaneously; and it enables them to delegate decision-making closer to the grass roots and to enter into joint schemes.
All of these measures will help to deliver more Lottery money to coalfield areas.