UK GOVERNMENT MAKE SCOTLAND BIG LOTTERY LOSERS

UK GOVERNMENT MAKE SCOTLAND BIG LOTTERY LOSERS

The SNP today (Monday) warned that hundreds of good causes across
Scotland could be stripped of millions in lottery cash as a result of
UK Government plans to cut funding and restrict lottery awards.

Tory and Liberal Democrat plans will result in the Big Lottery Fund
receiving approximately £15 million per annum less in Scotland (at
current ticket sales levels). The change in shares means an overall
net loss for Scotland because the Big Lottery Fund’s share (11.5%) is
Barnett plus weighting for deprivation while sport and arts funds (9%)
is Barnett only. Therefore, decreasing the Big Lottery Funds share and
increasing the other funds will reduce overall income to Scotland.

Further changes, restricting awards to only voluntary and community
sector (VCS) projects, mean that hundreds of non-vcs organisations,
the vast majority of them schools, will miss out on funding.

SNP Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson, Pete Wishart MP, said:

“Scotland will be hit disproportionately by these changes, with
hundreds of good causes set to miss out on millions in lottery awards.

“What is especially distasteful is that these projects are initiatives
like sensory gardens for severely disabled children or training for
those suffering from autism or educational support for pre-school
children.

“A lottery grant has proved to be the winning ticket for many
deserving projects, allowing them to flourish and expand.  Almost all
of this money went to schools through Awards for All.

“The great irony is that, before the election, the Tories claimed they
wanted a lottery independent of the government, but the first thing
they have done is dictate to the Big Lottery fund what they can and
can’t support.”