Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson has today spoken in the House of Commons in support of the Bill presented by the Hon. Member for North East Fife, which aims to raise the monetary limits for society lotteries and help charities across the UK raise more funds for vital causes.
In his remarks, Joe Robertson congratulated the Hon. Member for North East Fife on successfully bringing forward the Bill and acknowledged her argument in favour of reform. He also expressed his gratitude for her participation in his recent Westminster Hall debate on another critical issue for charities – the impact of increases to employer National Insurance contributions.
The Bill seeks to remove the current financial limits placed on the amount of money charities can raise through society lotteries, as set out in the Gambling Act 2005. Society lotteries, including the People’s Postcode Lottery, are crucial for raising funds for third sector organisations across the country. The People’s Postcode Lottery alone helps fund a wide range of charitable projects and has estimated that lifting the annual cap on lottery sales could free up an additional £175m in vital funding for good causes over the next five years – at no cost to taxpayers.
Robertson raised concerns about the current restrictions, noting that the National Lottery is not subject to the same financial limits. While acknowledging the need for the National Lottery to thrive and continue funding good causes, he pointed to research conducted by the Gambling Commission in 2017, which found that charity lotteries do not significantly impact National Lottery sales.
As part of his comments, Robertson expressed his full support for freeing up charities to raise more money through society lotteries and reducing the regulatory burden placed on them. He called on the Government to act on the independent research commissioned last year to help inform decision-making and asked the Minister to confirm when the results of this research will be published.
Robertson also highlighted the important role of charities in delivering public services valued at £17 billion annually, services that are essential for society but often delivered at no cost to the taxpayer. Charities provide services that the public sector cannot fully support, particularly in health and social care, poverty relief, homelessness prevention, and violence against women and girls.
In light of the £1.4 billion annual tax burden on charities due to National Insurance hikes, Robertson stressed that the Government must do more to support charity fundraising efforts.
