SCOTS WIN THE LOTTO

As it emerges their charities get 50% more lottery money per head than in England . . .

ENGLISH charities are given far less lottery cash than their counterparts in Scotland.

Organisers handed £76million to Scottish causes last year – £14.04 a head. But south of the border the figure was only £9.32 per person – £510million in all.

The huge disparity mirrors the controversial government spending formula that sees Scotland subsidised by English taxpayers. Last night a Tory MP demanded an immediate review into how the Big Lottery Fund shares out money generated by ticket sales.

‘It is absolutely outrageous that people who buy their lottery tickets in good faith are seeing their hard-earned money being siphoned north of the border,’ said Nadine Dorries.

‘The Scots already get far more than the English in terms of public spending – so why do they get so much lottery money on top of this? This needs to be looked at urgently. The union is precious but this is too much.’

Fellow Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘People will be shocked by this. It would appear that Scotland wins the lottery every year.’

Lottery funding has paid for ‘interactive’ puppet workshops in the Highlands, children’s cookery lessons in Glasgow and a free recording studio for youngsters in Dunfermline.

It also has paid for projects to help gay and transgender people take up sport, to advise parents on how to claim

£980k

for wind farm and solar energy system on the remote Isle of Canna

£350k

for Dynamic Dads; parenting support for fathers and fathers-to-be in Midlothian experiencing ‘exclusion and marginalisation’

£150k

for Heart and Sound community media and recording studio in Dunfermline

£960k

on In-Work Transformational Programme, a horticultural training facility for people with mental health issues

£150k

for VIP Walk In Dream Out – activities based on dance, theatre and urban art for families in North Lanarkshire

£150k

on Concrete Garden, for outdoor play, cookery and grow-your-own workshops in Glasgow

£420k

on one-hour advice sessions for parents with disabled children on how to claim benefits

£150k

for interactive puppet workshops for four and five-year-olds in the Highlands