Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the report by the Cricket Board of England and Wales, Racial equality in cricket, published in 1997, whether his Department has implemented the recommendations set out in that report.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The national governing body for cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) assesses trends in representation in the sport. This includes the level of representation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials. The Government and Sport England is committed to increasing diversity and inclusion across all sport and physical activity.
The ECB developed the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE) in 2020 to address a 75% decline in cricket participation by members of the Black community in cricket. It has now been established as an independent charity and received £540,000 in funding from Sport England and a grant from the ECB that has allowed a programme to be launched in Birmingham in 2021.
The ECB launched its South Asian Action Plan in 2018, also funded by Sport England. This focuses on increasing racial diversity and opening up access to cricket, including facilities and delivery of bespoke formats of the sport for the community’s needs. After the success of the first investment of £1 million, this has recently been awarded an additional £1 million for the next 2 years.
The report on ‘Racial equality in cricket’ identified a range of actions for the ECB. Sport England provides support, guidance and funding to help national governing bodies, including the ECB, to help them increase diversity and inclusion in their organisations.
There is still more to do, however, and we will continue to liaise with the ECB to ensure this issue is tackled effectively, and that recommendations from the newly established Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, are implemented.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
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 in the level of representation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials at all levels of cricket in England and Wales.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The national governing body for cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) assesses trends in representation in the sport. This includes the level of representation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials. The Government and Sport England is committed to increasing diversity and inclusion across all sport and physical activity.
The ECB developed the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE) in 2020 to address a 75% decline in cricket participation by members of the Black community in cricket. It has now been established as an independent charity and received £540,000 in funding from Sport England and a grant from the ECB that has allowed a programme to be launched in Birmingham in 2021.
The ECB launched its South Asian Action Plan in 2018, also funded by Sport England. This focuses on increasing racial diversity and opening up access to cricket, including facilities and delivery of bespoke formats of the sport for the community’s needs. After the success of the first investment of £1 million, this has recently been awarded an additional £1 million for the next 2 years.
The report on ‘Racial equality in cricket’ identified a range of actions for the ECB. Sport England provides support, guidance and funding to help national governing bodies, including the ECB, to help them increase diversity and inclusion in their organisations.
There is still more to do, however, and we will continue to liaise with the ECB to ensure this issue is tackled effectively, and that recommendations from the newly established Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, are implemented.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the allegations of racism affecting Yorkshire County Cricket club on Black and minority ethnic people.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no place for racism in sport or anywhere in society. I am extremely concerned by the recent reports of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and welcome the steps taken by the ECB to launch an investigation into the matter. This must be transparent and swift, for the benefit of cricket. The ECB must carry out their investigation unhindered, but the Government will be monitoring the situation at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the ECB closely, and will take further action if needed.
The government is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion, which is at the heart of our strategy ‘Sporting Future’. In June 2021 Sport England, UK Sport and the other home nations’ sports councils published the results of a detailed, independent review into tackling racism and racial inequality in sport.The findings make clear that racism and racial inequalities still exist within sport in the UK and that there are long standing issues, which have resulted in ethnically diverse communities being consistently disadvantaged. Each council is now working at pace to develop their own specific action plans to further deliver on these commitments and address the recommendations from the review.
In addition, the forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the community they serve. Sports receiving the most funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.
There is still more to do though, and we will continue to work with all sports to combat racism both in person and online.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to tackle racism within cricket.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no place for racism in sport or anywhere in society. I am extremely concerned by the recent reports of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and welcome the steps taken by the ECB to launch an investigation into the matter. This must be transparent and swift, for the benefit of cricket. The ECB must carry out their investigation unhindered, but the Government will be monitoring the situation at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the ECB closely.
The ECB has also launched the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, chaired by Cindy Butts, building on the work they have done across the game to increase diversity. The Azeem Rafiq case shows how much more needs to be done to stamp out racism in the game and the Government would urge anyone who has experienced discrimination to come forward with this.
The forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the community they serve. Sports receiving the most public funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to support victims of racist abuse within cricket.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no place for racism in sport or anywhere in society. I am extremely concerned by the recent reports of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and welcome the steps taken by the ECB to launch an investigation into the matter. This must be transparent and swift, for the benefit of cricket. The ECB must carry out their investigation unhindered, but the Government will be monitoring the situation at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the ECB closely.
The ECB has also launched the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, chaired by Cindy Butts, building on the work they have done across the game to increase diversity. The Azeem Rafiq case shows how much more needs to be done to stamp out racism in the game and the Government would urge anyone who has experienced discrimination to come forward with this.
The forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the community they serve. Sports receiving the most public funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of racism in professional cricket; and what steps she plans to take to tackle that matter.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
For a full answer please refer to the Urgent Question debated on Tuesday 9 November 2021.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will (a) make anti-racism, equality and diversity targets in cricket a ministerial priority and (b) report annually on the progress being made on achieving those targets.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The forthcoming update of UK Sport and Sport England’s “Code for Sports Governance” will place an increased focus on diversity in decision making and ensuring that sports organisations reflect the community they serve.
Sports receiving the most public funding will be required to agree a diversity and inclusion action plan with Sport England and UK Sport, which will be published and updated annually.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle racism and discrimination in cricket following the report into allegations of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large. The government welcomes the firm action taken so far by the England Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in stripping Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) of its ability to host international matches and commissioning a full review of the governance structures in place at the YCCC. We urge the ECB to continue to look at this with the utmost scrutiny and take further action where needed to stamp out racism in the game.
The government has already made clear its commitment to tackling racism and all forms of discrimination in sport, as set out in the sport and physical activity strategy ‘Sporting Future’.
We continue to work closely with our arm’s length bodies, national governing bodies of sport and sector partners to tackle racism and discrimination in sport. Sport England, UK Sport and the other home nations’ sports councils recently published the results of a detailed, independent review into tackling racism and racial inequality in sport. Each Council is working at pace to develop their own specific action plans to further deliver on diversity and inclusion commitments and address the recommendations from the review.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government for what reasons COVID-19 regulations permit people to socialise outside pubs but prevent them from attending four-day county cricket matches.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
On 22 February, the Government published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’, providing a roadmap out of lockdown restrictions in England. The Government's priority is to ensure a safe and gradual easing of restrictions, restoring freedoms sustainably, equitably and as quickly as possible without putting unsustainable pressure on the NHS and avoiding a further lockdown.
From 12 April, Step 2 of the roadmap, people have been permitted to gather outdoors in groups of up to six, or in larger groups - providing they consist of no more than two households. Outdoor hospitality service is also permitted to reopen at Step 2. Attendees must adhere to the social contact limits whilst at the venue as well as in the surrounding area, this means that crowds are not permitted to form at these venues. Venues must take reasonable steps to ensure that customers are seated whilst eating and drinking at their venue, including in any areas adjacent to their venue that are typically used to eat or drink from. This helps to maintain a controlled environment where social distancing can be maintained.
As regards to sporting events, spectators are not permitted at sporting events or live performances until Step 3, where we will begin to admit crowds again under strict capacity cap rules. However, this does not prevent people from viewing recreational or organised sport that is taking place in a public space (e.g. parks) in groups of up to 6 people or 2 households.
We have chosen to take a gradual approach to relaxing restrictions to reduce the risk of an increase in infections that might delay progress through the roadmap. Our approach also reflects the additional risks which can be associated with large spectator events, for example, if large numbers of people use public transport to travel to and from the venue, if crowd behaviours lead to increased risk, or if the event leads to gatherings in shared facilities either at the venue or nearby.
The Events Research Programme (ERP) is running its first phase of 10-15 pilots in April and May to inform decisions around the safe removal of social distancing at large events in Step 4 of the Roadmap. The pilots will be run across a range of settings, venues, and activities to gather evidence on the transmission risks associated with different settings, and how these can be mitigated.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what Government support is available for the provision of facilities and to encourage participation in grass roots cricket.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.
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.
On 26 January Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
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.