§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to seek an efficient not-for-profit 733W operator for the National Lottery as set out in his oral statement of 4 February 1998, Official Report, column 1052. [113171]
§ Mr. Chris SmithWe have indeed maintained the policy of seeking (and welcoming) any bids from efficient not-for-profit operators; but the selection of the next operator is of course a matter for the National Lottery Commission. The Government's objective is to maximise the returns to good causes and remove unnecessary profit margins. These aims will best be achieved through a robust competition. This has taken place and it is now up to the National Lottery Commission to evaluate the bids.
English Heritage Grant offers £ million 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–20001 Historic Buildings and Monuments 12.0 11.6 9.9 10.8 14.3 Churches 11.0 9.9 10.0 12.2 10.0 Cathedrals 4.3 3.0 2.0 2.6 3.0 Conservation Areas 13.5 12.4 9.3 7.3 6.3 Archaeology 5.7 5.4 5.4 4.7 4.8 Gardens grants (other) 0.4 0 0.1 0.2 0 Total 46.9 42.3 36.7 37.8 38.4 1 Budget