Launching the report, 'Lottery Funding: The First Seven Years', Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said:

"The National Lottery has been a major force in improving the quality of life of people throughout the United Kingdom. Its popularity has surpassed all expectations, with about 30 million people playing each week.

"People buy a ticket to share in the dream of becoming a millionaire, and the money they spend creates an enormous benefit for the Lottery's  good causes - the arts, sports, charities, heritage, the Millennium, education, health and the environment. "   

The Secretary of State also stressed the importance of keeping the public's confidence in the National Lottery:

" The success of the National Lottery relies on a delicate relationship of trust with the public. That trust can easily be dented, resulting in falling tickets sales and less money raised for good causes. The Lottery is an important part of people's lives, and we will only maintain it as one of the most successful in the world if we maintain people's confidence in the way it is run and in the way the money it raises is spent."

She continued:

"The  success of the National Lottery is not simply in its statistics. Big projects may capture the headlines but the real achievements can be seen in grants all over the country; improving the quality of  life in local neighbourhoods within every constituency.

 

"The Lottery is about the new club for older people, the sports event for people with disabilities, or the park transformed from a patch of derelict land into a blossoming source of local pride. This is the unsung and largely unrecognised face of the Lottery.

 

"Lottery money has helped to:

 

• provide new and improved cultural and sporting facilities

• regenerate previously neglected environments

• create jobs

• exploit new economic opportunities for local business

• support urban and rural communities

• help the young, older people and those with disabilities."

Tessa Jowell also emphasised the Geovernment's determination to help get a fairer share of Lottery proceeds to disadvantaged communities around the country:

 

"Some areas face deep-rooted problems which mean they need extra help to get their fair share. Area-based schemes such as Brass for Barnsley, which distributed £3 million to local voluntary and community organisations, have been a great success in getting Lottery money where it is needed most, but there is still more to do. That is why I announced a new £150 million targeted initiative in June 2001 to help secure fairer shares of Lottery funds for disadvantaged communities throughout the country.

"I believe the Lottery is about dreams: it is the dream of winning the jackpot; but also the dream of improving the quality of life for all of us and future generations to come. Let's keep making these dreams come true."

Headline projects funded by the National Lottery include:

 

• The Manchester Commonwealth Games facilities which benefited from £112m from Sport England.

• The Eden Project in Cornwall which was given £43m by the Millenium Commission and has had a million visitors since it opened fully in March 2001.

• The Imperial War Museum which received £6.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund to open a new American Air Museum at Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

 

At the other end of the scale, Awards for All has been one of the major successes of the Lottery. It has proved to be an effective single point of access for small groups looking for grants of between £500 and £5,000 to fund a wide range of community-based projects. To date over 26,500 awards worth more than £88m have been made in England and more than 6,600 awards totalling nearly £18m in Scotland. Awards for All is now being used by small community groups wishing to commemorate fifty years of the Queens reign in 2002.

 

Projects funded by the Awards for All scheme include:

 

• Men United, a Nottingham based group which supports single fathers.

• The Billa Asian Arts Council in Rochdale which raises issues such as drugs, crime and domestic violence through the medium of theatre.

• The Medina Marching Band on the Isle of Wight, enabling them to expand into a full size band.

• Northumberland Family Camping Group which gives families on a low income the opportunity to enjoy an affordable holiday.

• The Queensmead Sailing Club in London, allowing them to buy a competition quality sailing dinghy.

• Alan Carr Fishing Friends in Gateshead, which allows disabled anglers to participate in angling competitions.

 

Notes for Editors

1. The National Lottery was set up in November 1994 to raise money for a variety of good causes and thereby benefit the public and enhance the quality of life in the United Kingdom. This report covers the period of the first Lottery licence until September 2001.

 

2. The National Lottery etc. Act 1993 established five areas to benefit from the Lottery: sport; the arts; heritage; charities; and projects to mark the year 2000 and the beginning of the new millennium. The National Lottery Act 1998 created a sixth good cause allowing Lottery money to fund innovative projects in education, health and the environment.

3. The National Lottery Act 1998 also changed Lottery distributors' responsibilities and powers to allow them to be more strategic and proactive, to work together, to take decisions closer to grass roots level and to make the application system more user friendly.

4. The Lottery is regulated by a five person National Lottery Commission. Its duties are to protect players' interests, to ensure that the Lottery is run properly, and to maximise the amount raised for the good causes.