CULTURE Secretary Chris Smith today ordered a shake-up of the way National Lottery cash is handed out, so that former coalfield areas like Hyndburn win more help.

The minister decided on the overhaul after the first in-depth survey into levels of lottery funding across Britain showed wide variations in take up.

In particular, coalfield and former coalfield areas such as Huncoat, Great Harwood, Rishton and Accrington have been missing out. The survey shows they had been awarded on average £32 per person less than other areas.

This is partly because the areas generated 2.5 fewer applications per 1,000 people than the national average and requested £97 less per person than the national average.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope, welcomed the change and said he would lobby hard to ensure more cash came to his constituency and the rest of East Lancashire as a result.

He said: "I welcome this move. There were seven or eight coalmines in my area until the 1960s, including the Scaitliffe pit, mines at Huncoat, Great Harwood, Rishton and in Accrington itself.

"At its height, the Lancashire coalfield employed 100,000 people, but 10 years later, after a combination of Arthur Scargill and Margaret Thatcher had been at it, it employed none. "East Lancashire is very definitely a former coalfield area and even though it has not employed any miners for some years, both the people who worked in the pits and the local environment still bear the scars.

"We have know for some time that East Lancashire does not get as much out of the Lottery as it should and I have been concerned about this. Today's announcement is good news and I shall ensure that the area takes full advantage of it."

Mr Smith today told the annual Lottery Monitor Conference: "It is unacceptable that some parts of the country are doing much better than others from the Lottery.

"I want everyone to have confidence that the money for good causes is allocated fairly and goes where it is needed.

"This research is a first step. It shows us exactly what has happened across the country to date, but I now want to see a further investigation.

"We must look more closely at the reasons behind the disparity in awards, not just for the sake of the coalfield areas, but for all towns and cities where lottery awards are low."

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