Scottish charities losing out on Lottery funds

September 26, 2001 in Adults, Workforce

Westminster
and Holyrood are siphoning off lottery funds and denying Scottish charities
millions of pounds according to the Scottish Council for Voluntary
Organisations (SCVO).

Martin
Sime, the organisation’s chief executive, claims that a combination of falling
ticket sales and increasing use of lottery funds for government programmes is
leading to a huge reduction in cash for Scotland’s charities.

"The
resources available to the Community Fund for charities will fall across the UK
from £450m in 1999/00 to £250m next year – a drop of over 50 per cent.”

SCVO
fears that further government control will separate the public’s connection
between buying a lottery ticket and contributing to good causes, thus reducing
sales and resources further.

SCVO
are also critical of the New Opportunities Fund which now takes a third of all
lottery proceeds for good causes since the use of this money is strictly
pre-determined by the UK government.
This situation “stifles the scope for innovation and communities own
priorities” according to SCVO.

Sime
accused the government of underhand behaviour and said: “Through stealth and secrecy, government has
taken hold of the lottery and the resources it generates and has quite
shamelessly used it for its own purposes.”

Sime
is calling for a radical overhaul of the situation: “Lottery distribution policies must be open to a robust debate
about overall priorities – is it social justice, sustainable development or
public health?”