Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support horseracing.

I thank the right honourable member for championing British horseracing and the contribution that it makes to rural communities. It is worth £4 billion to the British economy and supports 85,000 jobs. I visited Newbury racecourse a week ago to see it in action first hand.

Government is supporting the sector. Racing remains the only sport to benefit from a Government-mandated levy, generating over £100m annually. We also protected bets on British racing from the 2025 Budget’s gambling duty increase.

We will continue to work closely with the sport to support its long-term sustainability.