£425 million raided from our communities: We want it back

Statements from Government

Hugh Robertson MP indicates Olympic underspend to be higher than first forecast
Hansard, 25 April 2013

Public Accounts Committee concerned lottery good causes have no influence over sale of Olympic assets
Parliament.UK, 19 April 2013

MPs raise Big Lottery Refund in Olympics Legacy Debate
Hansard, 14 February 2013

Civil servants grilled by MPs on Olympics lottery refund
Parliament TV, 12 December 2012 (see 1:30 and 2:20 in video)

Commons debate on lottery good causes with Fiona Mactaggart MP, Stuart Andrew MP, Pete Wishart MP & Maria Miller Culture Secretary.
Hansard, UK 22 November 2012

Hugh Robertson MP responds to question from Jim Cunningham MP about the Olympics underspend, during Culture, Media and Sport questions,
31 October 2012

Hugh Robertson MP responds to a series of questions from Jim Cunningham MP during Culture, Media and Sport questions on 17 September, 2012
Question 1: Refunding money to the Big Lottery Fund
Question 2: How much of the Olympics budget and contingency has been spent
Question 3: Timetable for selling the Olympics assets

Hugh Robertson MP responds to written question from Kerry McCarthy MP,
3 July, 2012

Hugh Robertson MP responds to written question from Kerry McCarthy MP,
26 June, 2012

Hugh Robertson MP responds to questions from Rt Hon Don Foster MP and Pete Wishart MP during Culture, Media and Sport questions,
14 June 2012

John Penrose MP responds to question from Gareth Thomas MP during Culture, Media and Sport questions,
27 February, 2012

Quotes

They said it - some of the things that politicians have said about the issue:

"In raiding the Lottery for a further £675m to make up the shortfall the government will penalise precisely the clubs and small organisations, up and down the country, that were supposed to benefit from the Olympics."
Hugh Robertson MP, then Shadow Olympics Minister (now Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Sport and the Olympics), 15 March 2007

The Conservative Party could not support a further raid on the Lottery at a time when the Government is refusing to divulge any details about the Olympic budget."
Hugh Robertson MP, 23 November 2007

It should give lottery distributors real confidence that the additional funding necessary for a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games will be re-paid - providing them and the whole country with a further 2012 dividend."
Tessa Jowell, Culture Secretary, 27 June 2007

London 2012 will bring huge financial gain to the whole country ... and it is only fair that the Lottery good causes should share in any such windfall"
Tessa Jowell, Culture Secretary, 15 March 2007

"When the Olympic Park is sold, money will come back to the lottery."
Lord Evans, spokesman for Culture Media and Sport, 23 May 2007

"Lottery good causes.have been repeatedly raided to fund state expenditure and Olympic overspend. "

"Government raids on the lottery good causes have undermined the single most important source of public grants for the voluntary sector."

"The spiralling costs of 2012 Olympics [were] part funded by repeated raids on the lottery good causes...it is the grassroots of the voluntary sector that will suffer most."
Conservative Party policy paper: Voluntary Action in the 21st Century, 2008

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Letters from Ministers

Read our correspondence with Ministers and other politicians for the campaign (we have also corresponded with hundreds of MPs and many more letters have been sent and received by our supporters)

DSC to Hugh Robertson MP, 8 April 2013

Mayor Boris Johnson to DSC, 27 March 2013

DSC to Mayor Boris Johnson, 4 March 2013

Hugh Robertson MP to DSC, 4 March 2013

10 Downing Street to DSC, 25 February 2013

DSC to Prime Minister, 12 February 2013

10 Downing Street to DSC, 28 January 2013

DSC to Hugh Robertson MP, 10 January 2013

Hugh Robertson MP to DSC, 21 December 2012

DSC to Hugh Robertson MP, 4 December 2012

Maria Miller MP to Fiona Mactaggart MP, 6 December 2012

Office of Maria Miller MP to DSC, 25 September 2012