What action it is taking in the light of the on-going review of the national lottery to ensure that the distribution of lottery money in Sc…

The consultation paper on lottery distribution policy, "Review of Lottery Funding", was published jointly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly on 29 July 2002 for consultation until 30 October 2002. The consultation paper set out a range of issues for consideration including two major themes of making the lottery more responsive to the needs and priorities of communities, and ensuring that funding is fairly distributed to all areas and communities across the UK. I have written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport conveying Scottish ministers' views in the light of the Scottish consultation responses. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 26471).As part of our on-going consideration of the review, I met the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language of the National Assembly for Wales on 27 February to discuss a range of issues on the National Lottery, including Scottish aspects.The outcome of the lottery review is expected to be announced in summer 2003.The Lottery Distributing Bodies (Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen, sportscotland, Community Fund, New Opportunities Fund, and Heritage Lottery Fund) are meantime engaged in a wide range of activities to ensure that the distribution of lottery money in Scotland meets Scottish needs and priorities.