Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support the Government plans to provide to (a) the English Cricket Board and (b) local authorities to increase cricket facilities in (i) Illford South constituency and (ii) other areas.

Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. Sport England has also provided £270 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic. This includes £6,599,437 investment in cricket to 1,362 projects.

Furthermore, in the last 10 years (since 2011), Sport England has invested more than £85 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding in community sports organisations and facilities for participation in cricket. For the period 2017/22 Sport England has invested £11,202,500 in the England and Wales Cricket Board.

In Ilford South, Sport England’s recent funding for cricket has included £9,445 to Ilford Cricket Club and £3,366 to Redbridge Cricket Club through their COVID-19 Community Emergency Fund.