MSP Rona Mackay has received confirmation the Scottish Government is in contact with the UK Treasury over a crisis facing lottery funding.
National Lottery funding to good causes is falling year-on-year, with a 14 per cent decrease in 2015/16 and a further four per cent in the first half of 2017/16.
Ms Mackay questioned Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop on the matter at Portfolio Questions in the Scottish Parliament on November 15.
She asked: “The cabinet secretary will be aware of the significant impact that a reduction in the national lottery income of good causes will have on organisations that rely on it, including Creative Scotland. What representations is the cabinet secretary making to the UK Government to ensure that the impact of that reduction will be mitigated?”
The Cabinet Secretary responded: “It will be of concern to all members to realise that the national lottery income for good causes reduced by 14 per cent between 2015-16 and 2016-17, and by a further 4 per cent in the first half of 2017-18.
“Aileen Campbell, the Minister for Public Health and Sport, and I have written to our counterparts in the UK Government to urge them to take cognisance of that reduction in the forthcoming budget, because some of the reduction in that income is a result of decisions that were made by the United Kingdom Government about the lottery.
“I have also written to Karen Bradley MP, and Derek Mackay has written to the UK Treasury, to relay our concerns about a number of issues, including the reduction in lottery funding for culture and sport.”
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