Wendy Chamberlain

My hon. Friend has just exemplified what I said earlier. Every single one of us has probably attended drop-ins in Parliament and seen the benefit of charity lotteries in our local communities. Fundraising is not a one-off thing. There will be other projects that were not successful in getting funding, or all the funding they needed, because it has not been available under the current system. I would like to bring in some of those charities’ voices directly. I hope the Minister is aware that before Christmas, over 100 charity leaders wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to support my Bill. They pointed to the absurdity of charity fundraising being restricted. They noted, and I have to agree, that “supporting this vital reform would send a strong message on the Labour Government’s backing for, and belief in the third sector and a vibrant, well-funded society.” I spoke with one the signatories of the letter, Children First, earlier this week. It said: “In a financial climate that is more challenging than ever, we rely on charitable fundraising to deliver the essential services we provide to children and families across the country. Importantly,”— and I think this is a very important point— “the unrestricted nature of the funding means we are more able to use the money in the most effective way for children and families, bridging gaps in the ever-complex funding environment. Many of our services rely on a jigsaw of income, sometimes stretching to 20 different sources all with conditions, data gathering and reporting requirements. This, in turn, has an impact on how much we can do for the children and families we support as time and energy is locked into sustaining funding as opposed to supporting families.”