The £1.7bn of lottery cash still lying idle in the bank

More than £1.7billion of lottery cash intended for good causes is yet to be spent, it has emerged.

The huge surplus remains despite promises by distributors that the cash mountain  -  raised from ticket sales  -  would be dramatically reduced.

The Council for the Advancement of Arts, Recreation and Education last night demanded that the majority of the money be pumped into projects which help steer youngsters away from crime.

Campaigners claimed that, as gang and knife violence threatens to spiral out of control, such a move was vital.

CAARE  -  the only non-Government body with access to lottery accounts  -  said the Big Lottery Fund was hoarding £578million.

At the end of March, the National Heritage Memorial Fund also had £567million unused, and the Arts Council England £155million. Sport England had a surplus of almost £202million, and the UK Sports Council £18million.

The total amount  -  £1,707,672,174  -  would easily cover the additional £675million currently being raided from good causes to pay for the hugely-inflated cost of the 2012

London Olympics, it said. Denis Vaughan, president of CAARE, said: 'Without interfering with their income from Camelot, the Prime Minister must use his influence to pressure lottery distribution bodies to invest their massive current surpluses for this urgent purpose, in order to make a real and immediate difference in the fight against gang culture, drug abuse and alcohol excesses.'

The hoarding of huge sums of cash by lottery distributors has been repeatedly highlighted by campaigners and the Daily Mail. Distributors promised ministers as early as 2001 that balances, then standing at £3.4billion, would fall to £1.5billion by 2004.

Yet, more than four years on, the pledge remains unfulfilled.

In 2005, Westminster's Public Accounts Committee said: 'Lottery money does no good sitting in the National Lottery Distribution Fund. Their balances are constantly being replenished as lottery tickets continue to be sold.'

A spokesman for CAARE said: 'They are simply not distributing the funds as intended and often miss even their own targets for doing so. The Big Lottery fund missed its own forecast by an astonishing £100million.'

The organisation has argued the Lottery should give back 'the people's millions' by reducing its surplus to around £200million.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport  -  which oversees the Lottery  -  said: 'The balance has been reduced significantly over the years and is over half the size it was in 2002.

'The money is committed to good causes and ready to be spent when projects need it. Distributors are taking a prudent approach.'