PLANS for a Bracknell-wide lottery have shed some light on how the council could cooperate with nearby charities in the future.

A number of voluntary organisations have seen their funding from the council cut in recent years but it is hoped that the new Bracknell Forest Lottery – which could have a jackpot of £25,000 – would help to increase financial support for the charities.

A report produced for the council read: “The council acknowledges the positive impact that voluntary sector organisations can make in improving the lives of local people.

“It was agreed by the executive at its meeting in January that establishing and promoting a local lottery that can secure funding for such organisations will allow the council to support them in a sustainable way.”

After the lottery was first proposed at the start of the year, a working group made up of councillors and representatives from local charities was set up in order to discuss how the scheme should work.

Tickets are set to cost £1 per week and 60 per cent of all proceeds would go to ‘good causes’, such as charities and voluntary organisations, whereas as 20 per cent would be given out as player prizes.

50 per cent of the funds directed to charities would go to a chosen cause, while the remaining 10 per cent would go towards a central fund for all charities.

The report claimed as much as £5,000 could be available for charities through the central fund once the lottery is well established.

The working group emphasised that only Bracknell Forest borough charities should be allowed to sign up for the lottery.

At a second meeting of the group concerns were raised about whether the lottery funding would replace council funding, with one charities representative suggesting the scheme was a good idea as long as voluntary organisations did not lose out on other council funds.

Over the last few years decisions have been made to cut charity grants, with South Hill Park’s funding set to be reduced to nothing by 2019, and mobility charity Shopmobility will also see its grants reduced from an annual fee of £32,000 to zero before 2020.

The working group also suggested money should not be allocated in a way that would benefit the core functions of the council, and last month the authority’s audit committee suggested councillors should no longer be nominated as trustees to the boards of local charities in order to avoid a potential conflict of interest when the lottery is finally set up.

The council’s top branch is set to confirm its support for the working group’s suggestions at a meeting on Tuesday, November 13.