The Sunday Post (Newcastle)

Just the ticket: Lottery posts record sales figures

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The revived National Lottery will reveal record sales figures on Tuesday.

The announceme­nt will cap a resurgence of the big-money game that appeared to be on its way out just four years ago.

After being axed from the Saturday-night BBC TV schedule in 2016, when the ticket price was doubled to £2, the competitio­n’s 25th anniversar­y year will mark its best annual sales so far.

New games such as Set For Life, where the jackpot prize is £10,000 a month for 30 years, have helped to attract new customers.

Last year, total ticket sales topped £7.2 billion, of which £1.6bn went to National Lottery projects, £4.1bn was paid out in prizes and £864.8 million went to the Government in Lottery Duty, while retailers’ commission accounted for £303.9m.

However, Camelot chairman Sir Hugh Robertson said the success was down to a renewed emphasis on supporting good causes, adding: “That is the metric that really matters to me.”

ON MARCH 18, the Defence Secretary announced a COVID Support Force to assist public services with their response to the coronaviru­s outbreak. There were 20,000 Armed Forces personnel stood at readiness to assist civil authoritie­s, of which nearly 4,000 have already been deployed. Military reservists have also been mobilised as part of the COVID Support Force and used in a range of activities, from providing medical and logistical support to deploying their own profession­al skills, such as accounting and constructi­on. The help from the UK’s armed forces during the Coronaviru­s outbreak has taken a number of different forms. The Armed Forces have deployed dozens of military planners across the UK, which has seen them working with Local Resilience Forums and Partnershi­ps, alongside the Emergency Co-ordination Centres in Scotland and Wales supporting public services, local authoritie­s and emergency services The UK Armed Forces’ efforts have included working with specialist­s from Boots Pharmacist­s to train testing personnel, the provision of military testers to regional testing centres and the delivery of vital testing equipment. Military personnel are also currently working to distribute PPE to NHS trusts and organisati­ons across the country. Up to May 8, Armed Forces personnel had helped to deliver over 1.18 billion items of PPE to NHS staff in England. Six military specialist­s have also been deployed to assist NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with the fitting of FFP3 face masks. A new COVID Aviation Task Force has been establishe­d. This includes two RAF Puma based in Kinloss Barracks to help the NHS in Scotland and Northern England. Support has included training key workers in various locations around the Western Hebrides in medical evacuation procedures and supporting NHS staff, plus helping with five medical evacuation­s in England and Scotland.

 ??  ?? The Lottery logo
The Lottery logo
 ?? PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES ?? HELPING HANDS: Members of the 101 Logistic Brigade of the British Army deliver a consignmen­t of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital in London.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES HELPING HANDS: Members of the 101 Logistic Brigade of the British Army deliver a consignmen­t of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital in London.

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