---

National Lottery Bill

My Lords, the Minister is very kind, but he has tempted me to my feet and I am afraid that I cannot resist. I quite understand what he said, but perhaps he could deal with a point of principle that relates to what the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, said. A grant of almost £30,000 was recently made to Manchester United, which has just been sold for, I think, almost £2 billion, to keep its staff fit. I am sure that that is a thoroughly laudable thing to do. When the Sport England spokesman was asked about it, he said:"““We cannot and should not discriminate against a firm based on whether it is perceived to be wealthy””." That rather confuses because, in light of what Ministers have been saying about who should receive lottery grants, surely distributing bodies should consider the assets of the institutions which are to receive the money before they simply hand it out.