The Culture Secretary, James Purnell, has pledged that there would be no further raids on the National Lottery to fund the 2012 Olympic Games.

The pledge followed MPs voting, on 15 January, for a diversion of £675 million in lottery funds to meet the increased cost of the Olympics.

The NCVO, Voluntary Arts Network, Heritage Link and CCPR have been lobbying government to stop diverting funding away from good causes to support the games. This coalition said that the sector remained concerned about the detrimental impact that the most recent raid would have, but were relieved that further raids had been ruled out.

The Voluntary Arts Network’s chief executive Robin Simpson said the commitment represented an important step in terms of government listening to the sector, though it did not alleviate the damage caused by the funding transfers already announced. “This commitment is a direct result of the meetings we had with the Secretary of State last week,” he added. “We can therefore congratulate ourselves on a significant campaign achievement.”