Government stands accused on Lottery

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has raised
concerns that the government has ignored several of the culture,
media and sport select committee’s recommendations for reforming
the National Lottery.

In its March report, the committee said it “deplored” the erosion
of the additionality principle, which states that lottery
initiatives must be additional to what is properly funded by
government and not a substitute for it.

But the government insists in its response that the principle has
not been eroded, and has rejected the committee’s call for an
annual report to parliament on how the additionality principle is
being applied.

It pledged instead to justify to parliament every change of policy
or administration where the additionality principle is at
stake.

Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said it was clear the
issue of additionality remained under threat.

“The recent announcement that the £200m Young People’s Fund is
to be spent on a range of government-inspired programmes appears to
be further evidence of the erosion of additionality,” he said.