Bristol's Good Causes Lose Out to Olympics

4.19.00pm GMT Wed 19th Mar 2008

Worthy causes in Bristol West will lose out on up to £25 million of lottery funding due to the gaping hole in London Olympics' budget.

£2 billion will be taken from lottery funds nationally in the run up to the 2012 games and good causes in the Bristol area will be some of the hardest hit. Bristol West could well be one of the most neglected areas because most of the cities cultural institutions lie within the constituency.

Bristol West MP Stephen Williams said: "Bristol has been very successful in the past at receiving lottery funding for its arts organisations. We must make sure future programmes are not jeopardised because money is being siphoned off to London. We want more than a few crumbs from the table during the Olympics."

The Liberal Democrats claim the shortfall could be clawed back by a range of measures including simplifying the bureaucracy surrounding the 2012 Olympic Games and changing tax rules on lottery prizes.