Horse Racing Levy

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

My hon. Friend is a very wise man.

Racing is no different from other intellectual property. We need a new, fair structure that keeps British racing the best in the world and ensures that those who profit from racing help to pay for racing, so I support a racing right.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this topic to the Floor of the House. The motion requests that proposals are made on the funding of racing, including the levy and commercialisation. Does he agree that, if we have a wholesale review of the funding of racing, greyhound racing should be included, so that a statutory levy could be introduced to fund that sport?

[Matthew Hancock]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and the relationship with greyhound racing—in which racing has again lost out in recent years—is an important consideration.