Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
By Emma Weston, Research Intern, Directory of Social Change
In our Christmas Quick Survey we asked:
Who’s the biggest scrooge?
| 49% | The Health Lottery – for only ‘giving’ 20p in the pound |
| 29% | Jeremy Hunt – for not refunding Lottery Olympics cash |
| 22% | Virgin Trains – for scrapping CharityLine discounts |
There were 234 responses and 21 written comments. Was the scrawny and undernourished number of comments down to the question or a bit of holiday lethargy? Oh well, bah humbug. Pass the mulled wine!
Almost half of the respondents believed that the Health Lottery was the biggest tightwad, attracting 49% of the vote. Richard Desmond’s scheme has met with quite some outrage since it was established, mainly because only 20p per £1 of revenue goes to health projects, compared to 28p for the National Lottery. Check out Ben Wittenberg’s [recent ruminations on the Health Lottery and other worrying trends] involving gaming and profiteering from charity.
Culture, Media and Sport Minister Jeremy Hunt steered into a comfortable second place for not refunding Lottery cash taken from charities to help fund the 2012 London Olympics. Hundreds of millions of pounds of lottery revenue have been taken from the Big Lottery Fund alone, and DSC has launched its very own BIG Lottery Refund Campaign which aims to see every single penny paid back. By the closing ceremony of the games on the 12th August 2012 we want a clear outline of when and how the money will be reimbursed. Check out the latest and get involved at www.biglotteryrefund.org.uk
Virgin Trains steamed in last but still caught a credible 22% of this month’s penny pincher vote. Once upon a time, Virgin offered charities generous fares on peak travel but with the [scrapping of the CharityLine scheme those have gone up in smoke]. DSC’s attempts to get Virgin to reconsider their position were met with a wall of corporate waffle.