Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that charity lottery sales limits do not have a negative impact on the amount of funding received by charities.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented, and the results of the review were published in March 2022. Early indicators were positive. The higher annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to restructure and become single licence holders, and divert the savings to good cause returns. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector was required before considering any further changes. My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what analysis her Department has made of the impacts of charity lottery sales limits on the funds raised by charity lotteries.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented, and the results of the review were published in March 2022. Early indicators were positive. The higher annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to restructure and become single licence holders, and divert the savings to good cause returns. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector was required before considering any further changes. My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to update the charity lottery sales limits.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased as part of a wider package of reforms in 2020. These were reviewed 12 months after they were implemented, and the results of the review were published in March 2022. Early indicators were positive. The higher annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to restructure and become single licence holders, and divert the savings to good cause returns. The review concluded that it was too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time when the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, and that more data on annual growth of the sector was required before considering any further changes. My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the annual sales limit placed on charity lotteries.
Answered by Paul Scully
The society lottery annual sales limit was last increased in July 2020 as part of a wider package of changes to society lottery limits.
DCMS published a review of the impact of these in March 2022. Early indicators are positive, for example the increase in the annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to take advantage of the new limit to restructure and become single licence holders, and use the cost savings in doing so to increase good cause returns. The review concluded that it is too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time that the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, given changes in consumer behaviour over this period which may have had a distorting effect. We want to see more data on annual growth of the sector to fully measure their impact.
My officials will continue working with the Gambling Commission, as part of its regulatory role, to keep the sector under review.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the increase in the annual sales limit for society lotteries from £10 million to £50 million, if she will publish a breakdown of the distribution of overall returns to good causes across (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Damian Collins
The annual sales limit for society lotteries was increased from £10 million to £50 million in July 2020.
We published a review of the impact of these and other changes to society lottery sales and prize limits in March 2022 (link). Early indicators are positive, for example the increase in the annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to take advantage of the new limit to restructure and become single licence holders, and use the cost savings in doing so to increase good cause returns. The review concluded that it is too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time that the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, given changes in consumer behaviour over this period which may have had a distorting effect. We want to see more data on annual growth of the sector to fully measure their impact. Since the review, the Gambling Commission has published further data which shows that the large society lottery sector is continuing to grow.
The Gambling Commission does not collect data on the location of beneficiaries of grant funding. Society lotteries are a helpful way of permitting non-commercial societies to fundraise for good causes. Funds raised by society lotteries are distributed within the stated purposes of that society, and it is for each operator to determine where the money raised is distributed. Larger lotteries may support local, national or international charities, but many others exist solely to support their own work, such as hospice lotteries.
Legislation regarding society lotteries in Northern Ireland is determined by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Asked by: Alex Davies-Jones (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of the increase in the annual sales limit for society lotteries from £10 million to £50 million on money returned to good causes.
Answered by Damian Collins
The annual sales limit for society lotteries was increased from £10 million to £50 million in July 2020.
We published a review of the impact of these and other changes to society lottery sales and prize limits in March 2022 (link). Early indicators are positive, for example the increase in the annual sales limit has allowed some multiple licensed operators who previously had annual sales in excess of £10 million, to take advantage of the new limit to restructure and become single licence holders, and use the cost savings in doing so to increase good cause returns. The review concluded that it is too soon to reach any firm view on the impact of the changes, especially during a time that the effect of the Covid pandemic made any evaluation more difficult, given changes in consumer behaviour over this period which may have had a distorting effect. We want to see more data on annual growth of the sector to fully measure their impact. Since the review, the Gambling Commission has published further data which shows that the large society lottery sector is continuing to grow.
The Gambling Commission does not collect data on the location of beneficiaries of grant funding. Society lotteries are a helpful way of permitting non-commercial societies to fundraise for good causes. Funds raised by society lotteries are distributed within the stated purposes of that society, and it is for each operator to determine where the money raised is distributed. Larger lotteries may support local, national or international charities, but many others exist solely to support their own work, such as hospice lotteries.
Legislation regarding society lotteries in Northern Ireland is determined by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the increase in tax relief for part-time workers that would result from auto enrolment being extended to those earning under £10,000 a year; and what proportion of that amount would benefit (a) women and (b) men.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the Pensions Act 2008, the Secretary of State is required to conduct an annual review of the automatic enrolment earnings trigger, as well as the upper and lower limits of the qualifying earnings band (the automatic enrolment thresholds).
The review for the 2022/23 thresholds was published on 8 February 2021, here Automatic enrolment: review of the earnings trigger and qualifying earnings band for 2022/23 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The earnings trigger, by remaining at £10,000, will bring in an additional 17,000 savers into pension savings, striking a necessary balance between bringing in those most likely to benefit from pension saving with affordability for those individuals and employers.
The review estimates that a reduction in the earnings trigger to £6,396 (the National Insurance lower earnings limit) would bring in 214,000 additional workers and increase contributions by £124m in 2022/23, compared to increasing the trigger by average earnings growth. Of this, around £8m would be via increased income tax relief. Of the additional contributions; a) 78% would benefit women and (b) 22% would benefit men.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the trade deal agreed in principle between the UK and Australia, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on anti-microbial resistance in the UK of increased meat imports from Australia where antibiotics are permitted to be used as growth promoters.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
All meat and other animal products imported into the UK are subject to clear controls on limits of veterinary medicine residues, including antimicrobials. The UK also prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported meat products. Our agreement with Australia changes neither of these facts.
Minimising the development and spread of Anti Microbial Resistance (AMR) to protect human and animal health is a key priority for the Government. As part of this, we have secured a commitment to cooperate on the fight against AMR with Australia. This includes exchanging information and expertise on combatting AMR, as well as collaborating in international fora on the development and implementation of international standards and initiatives on this matter.
Under Section 42 of the Agriculture Act, the Trade Secretary must report to Parliament on whether, or to what extent measures in new Free Trade Agreements, relating to trade in agricultural goods, are consistent with maintaining UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare and the environment. The deal with Australia will be subject to this requirement.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to tackle (1) rising demand, (2) rising costs, and (3) rent-seeking behaviours, in the adult social care sector, as identified by the APPG on Limits to Growth report Tacking growth dependency – the case of adult social care, published on 13 July.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government is committed to reforming the adult social care system and will bring forward proposals in 2021.
We are working closely with local and national partners to ensure our approach to reform is informed by diverse perspectives, including of those with lived experience of the care sector.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the tariff reductions the Government agreed on the 15 June 2021 for Australian agricultural exports to the UK will apply to meat produced from livestock treated with growth-promoting antibiotics.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a world leader in the battle against antimicrobial resistance – significantly cutting its use of antibiotics in farming. The Government have reached agreement with Australia to cooperate on combatting anti-microbial resistance, including a commitment to ensure appropriate use of and reduced need for antibiotics.
Imports to the UK will still have to meet the same UK food safety and biosecurity import standards, including clear controls on limits of veterinary medicine residues in meat and other animal products, as they did before. The use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed remains banned in the UK under retained EU law.