02 Jan 2002
The National Lottery has proved to be lucky for Scotland since its introduction just over seven years ago, with funding of over £900 million flowing into a wide range of good causes, Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell said today (Wed 2 January).
Commenting on the publication of a Government report on the first seven years of the National Lottery, Mrs Liddell said:
"Communities throughout Scotland have benefited from Lottery funding. The Report shows that in Scotland alone there have been 14,428 lottery awards by the distributing bodies, paying out a total of £928 million to good causes.
"The Lottery has improved the lives of millions of Scots by providing additional funding to help people in areas as diverse as education, charities, health, the environment, culture, arts and sport.
"Lottery money has helped the people of Gigha purchase their island, and it is helping to regenerate the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals, including building the Falkirk Wheel. It helped to rebuild Hampden as a fitting home for our national football team, and has benefitted many of our galleries and museums.
"Communities and school children across Scotland have had access to 'summer schools' and 'out of school' learning clubs thanks to lottery money. It has also helped tens of thousands of older people and people with disabilities.
"The Lottery has achieved a lot, but we want to continue to maximise its potential. The Government is determined to make Lottery funding as fair as possible, so that it benefits all sections of society.
"We will continue to monitor the Lottery closely. A new £150 million fund, to be administered by the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund, will ensure that disadvantaged areas across the UK receive their fair share of Lottery funding. And the Government will carry on working closely with the distributing bodies, and the devolved administrations, to ensure that the Lottery benefits all of us."
NOTES FOR NEWS EDITORS
1. Lotteries are a reserved matter under section B9 of Part II of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. However, there is some executive devolution to the Scottish Ministers of powers relating to the National Lottery, by way of Statutory Instrument. The National Lottery was launched in November 1994.
2. A full copy of the Government Report 'Lottery Funding: TheFirst Seven Years', which covers all of the United Kingdom, can be found on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website: http://www.culture.gov.uk/
3. Total Lottery Awards in Scotland are as follows:
Arts
2,466 awards: £150,936,449
Charitable Expenditure
7,567 awards: £206,405,911
Health, education and the environment
152 awards: £47,221,984
Heritage
929 awards: £213,809,224
Millennium
292 awards: £197,779,310
Sport
3,022 awards: £111,530,240
Total
14,428 awards: £927,638,818
4. The Lottery distribution bodies that make awards in Scotland are the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen, Sportscotland, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Community Fund (formerly the National Lottery Charities Board), the Millennium Commission and the New Opportunities Fund.