Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [Lords]

I am happy to return to this matter in Committee, but it is important to recognise that the scheme is voluntary and that it will be up to banks and building societies to decide whether they wish to participate. All the indications in the public statements that they have made are that they want to do so. The scheme will be privately run and will produce its own accounts, which will be published openly and transparently. It is important that that happens. A number of hon. Members asked about the principles for distribution. The Government consulted on that in May 2007, when they set out their intended spending areas for England, which have been discussed during this debate. I stress that feedback broadly supported the Government's proposals for distribution with a majority of respondents supportive of the principles, the use of the Big Lottery as a UK-wide distributor and the Government's intended spending areas. We specified those areas for England, but, as was made clear by the Chief Secretary, it is a matter for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to set out their own priorities. We heard one contribution on the consultation process in Scotland. The Government, supported by the consultation, hold that the spending areas identified in England represent a worthwhile investment of community resources, now and in the future. We will determine the relative allocation for each year in relation to the spending areas for England through a cross-Government working group, which will draw up the spending directions to the Big Lottery. I am sure that we will come back to that in Committee, but it is important to recognise that we have been through a consultation process on the general areas. In determining the relative priorities, we will consider whether further consultation is needed. The Big Lottery Fund is a Government-controlled body, but it is a non-departmental public body, independent of Government. A number of hon. Members made some injudicious comments in suggesting that it is an arm of Government and that we are trying to use it to fund normal Government expenditure. That is clearly not the case. It is very much the Government's intention that those lottery funds should be additional public expenditure.