The government's tendency to raid the national lottery to fund services which should really be paid for by the state was the theme of a fringe debate held yesterday, writes Helene Mulholland.
Ed Vaizey, shadow arts minister, told a large audience in the Winter Gardens yesterday that the principle of "additionality" - whereby money is given to projects that would not normally be funded by the government - has been eroded under Labour and will be restored when the Tories win the next general election (Oh yes - Mr Vaizey took William Hague at heart when the former leader opened yesterday's conference by urging delegates to exude confidence).
So under a Tory government, the party would "once and for all" relinquish ministerial control of lottery funding, and return to the "four good causes" principle established by former Tory prime minister John Major: charities, arts, heritage, and sports (but not Olympics).
Trouble is, times have changed quite a bit since Mr Major was leading government. Returning to the good old days risks excluding the proliferation of social enterprise ventures which deliver many valuable services for disadvantaged groups from accessing funds.
Mr Vaizey may want to consider switching "charity" as a good cause, to "third sector" - a far more embracing classification.
