The Conservatives have promised freedom for the arts and the national lottery in a new "mini-manifesto" for culture.

Shadow culture secretary Peter Ainsworth said on Tuesday that the Tories would give the arts freedom in place of Labour's control freak mentality.

Launching the new Tory policy, "Common sense for arts and the lottery" on Tuesday, shadow culture secretary, Peter Ainsworth, said: "Our approach to the arts could not be more different from Labour's. Where they have sought to exercise control, we will offer freedom; where they have increased bureaucracy, we will reduce it; and where they have wasted money, we will release it to organizations and communities across the country."

"We believe that the arts excel when they are free to do so. There is a difference between public support and political control. Government may support the arts, but it does not own them," he said.

He said the future of the lottery was a "shambles" adding that the Conservatives "want the lottery to operate as it was originally intended to, giving people more say in how their money is spent and the government less".

Offering a new £3 billion endowment fund for culture and the arts, the Tories claim that they will introduce a new "hands off" funding structure for culture with reforms to regional arts funding freeing up money for "art not administration".

A Conservative government would put the lottery quango, the New Opportunities Fund, on an "independent footing", widening its remit in order to support private partnerships on crime prevention and regeneration projects.

Moreover a Tory government will examine ways of distributing NOF funds "to reflect spending priorities identified by lottery players, aiming to end the top down approach".

Striking a familiar tone, Ainsworth promises that by reducing "red-tape" associated with lottery grant applications the Conservatives will bring £1 billion of reserve funds into productive use.

Culture secretary, Chris Smith has dismissed the Conservatives "mini-manifesto" by attacking the Tory record on arts and claiming that figures for a £3 billion endowment fund do not add up.

"It is strange to see the Tories are at last taking an interest in the arts...during their last period of government, arts funding fell in real terms year on year. By contrast, the Labour government is increasing arts funding by 60% in real terms over 5 years. Their ill conceived notion of a £3b endowment fund for the arts just does not add up. It takes £1b from Lottery money that has already been allocated to sports, arts and community projects up and down the country - and £2b from privatising Channel 4, a policy that would do untold damage to British broadcasting. And they make no mention at all of what they'll cut from the arts budget when they put the endowment in place," he said.