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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends of racism in cricket in England.

The Government is clear that racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large.We were extremely concerned by the reports of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and in the sport generally that emerged last year. We welcome the steps taken so far by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the chair of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Lord Patel, to address these issues. This includes the publication of a sport-wide 12 point action plan, against which the ECB regularly releases progress updates, and the launch of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket.

The Government expects to see clear and sustained evidence of cultural change across the sport resulting from these actions. We will continue to directly hold the ECB to account on this, and reserve the right to take further measures if progress is not made.