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Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture,
Media and Sport, has announced plans for Lotto players to have more of a say about where lottery
grants go under a new pilot voting scheme. The
pilot trial is called, "Your Pound, Your
Choice" and will allow players to tick
boxes on voting slips at selected lottery retailers
and thereby say which local projects should
get lottery money.
Two regions have already been selected to pilot
the scheme, although these have not yet been
announced to the public. According to officials,
the scheme is scheduled to run in August, and
up to five projects in the two regions will
compete for lottery grants of up to £50,000.
Speaking at the Lottery Monitor Conference in
London, Tessa Jowell emphasised the importance
of the public value of National Lottery in supporting
good causes, and the importance of involving
the public in shaping Lottery policy.
Tessa Jowell said: "The National Lottery
is not just great fun for players, it is a major
funder of good causes in the UK - £18.6
billion to date. Just imagine what Britain would
be like without the Lottery. Major public value
projects like the Tate Modern, Eden Project
and the Angel of the North would not have happened.
The National Lottery also has the overwhelming
support of the general public.
"It is vital that the public feel that
they have a genuine sense of ownership of the
National Lottery and real power to shape decisions
and influence outcomes. We have already made
the Lottery more responsive to the views of
the public - the tick box pilots and decisions
about how Lottery money is spent over the next
10 year period take that a step further."
27 June 2006
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