Good causes will lose out until the cap is raised next year

Charities are calling for the UK government to speed up implementing new laws on society lotteries.

The government’s announced in July that it planned to raise the charity lottery sales limit from £10 million to £50 million.

People’s Postcode Lottery is concerned that despite the government’s announcement, it could be well into 2020 before the law is finally changed.

This, it says, would mean local charity funding continuing to be adversely affected by the bureaucracy required by the current law.

Speaking at an event organised by People’s Postcode Lottery at the Labour Party conference in Brighton, Vanessa Griffiths of The Ramblers, alongside Baroness Delyth Morgan of Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Now, urged ministers to stick to the 1 January 2020 implementation date – a timeframe confirmed by the Government in July.

Malcolm Fleming, head of public affairs at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “Securing the £50 million limit earlier this year was a highly significant milestone, with the former minister indicating these changes would be implemented in early 2020.

“We appreciate there has been a reshuffle within the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, but we’re urging the newly appointed Secretary of State, Nicky Morgan MP, and the new Minister responsible for lotteries, Helen Whately MP, to honour this commitment as soon as possible.”

Two Labour parliamentarians, Carolyn Harris MP and Neil Findlay MSP, also backed a quick implementation of the new law to prevent more charities losing out.