Independent Fan-led Review of Football Governance

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Monday 29th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

Yes, I am sure my honourable friend the Sports Minister will be delighted to receive a copy of the report when it is published and will of course look at it with the attention and respect it deserves.

[Baroness Verma (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend, in asking for better commitment towards fans, also recognise that, if fans were much more involved in the management of their clubs, we might be able to reduce the scale of racism that has come into football?

Racism in Cricket

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Wednesday 10th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay) (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his support for the noble Lord, Lord Patel of Bradford, whom I spoke to this morning. Understandably he is rather busy, focusing his attention on the matter at hand, but I reassured him that there is huge support across your Lordships’ House for him and the important job he has in addressing this appalling situation at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

We are very glad that the noble Lord, Lord Patel, began by apologising to Azeem Rafiq for the appalling behaviour and the unacceptable way in which his case was dealt with. The Government will closely scrutinise the actions that the Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the ECB take in response to these very concerning allegations. We want that investigation to be thorough and transparent but also swift, to ensure that the public’s faith in cricket can be restored—in Yorkshire and beyond. If not, the Government will not hesitate to step in and act.

[Baroness Verma (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the actions of the noble Lord, Lord Patel, but can my noble friend the Minister look at all sports? It is not just cricket: it is football—it is every sport. If you are a person of colour, the pain that you suffer, as those sitting here of colour will know, stays with you for life. It is important that we start looking at these clubs. They make huge amounts of money. They need to look at their codes of practice and what they are doing, and the leadership must come from the top. It would be useful for us all to know how they will report what they are doing in their clubs across the country to improve the situation and ensure that local communities are better represented within their own movements.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very important point. Sport, like all areas of society, has a very important role to play in tackling discrimination where we see it. In June of this year, Sport England, UK Sport and the other sports councils published the results of a detailed independent review into tackling racism and racial equality in sport. The findings made it clear that, sadly, racism still exists in sport in the UK and that there are long-standing issues for us all to tackle. Each council is working swiftly to develop its own specific action plan to deliver on these commitments and address the recommendations, but, as she says, working with communities and individuals is a hugely important part of that.

Social Media: Offensive Material

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The right reverend Prelate raises very important points. He will be aware that the Law Commission is reviewing the legislation in relation to offensive online communications to make sure that it is fit for purpose, and that its final recommendations will be made this summer. We are also working more widely with law enforcement to review whether we have sufficient powers to address illegal abuse online.

[Baroness Verma (Con) [V]]

My Lords, will my noble friend include, in the reporting and duty of care on social media companies, harassment and bullying in the way that we have seen happen when people break off relationships or are threatened because they do not agree with a particular point of view? I have heard from a number of people who have been very frightened of going back on to social media because of the attacks that they have had to endure. Will she also make sure that media companies have enough resources to police and that the required processes are in place to do so?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend raises important points about harassment and bullying. The pile-on harassment to which she refers is one of the specific issues that the Law Commission will be making recommendations on. She mentioned the resources of social media companies, and we are less concerned about them. We feel that they have ample resources, but we will also make sure that Ofcom is fully resourced to respond.