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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage members of the betting industry to ensure the welfare of racing greyhounds.

The British Greyhound Racing Fund (BGRF) collects a voluntary levy from bookmakers and uses the funds for greyhound welfare and sports integrity, and to a lesser extent the development and promotion of the sport.

In January 2019 the Government announced an increased funding commitment from bookmakers to ensure the welfare of greyhounds is protected and improved. In 2019/20 the BGRF collected a total of £8.87m, up from £6.95m in the previous 12 months.

This commitment has allowed the BGRF to fund capital grants to stadia, for purposes including welfare and integrity support. In the last calendar year (2019), direct welfare provision totalled 51% of the British Greyhound Racing Fund’s overall budget. BGRF support has also assisted GBGB to make emergency welfare payments to trainers, owners and the Greyhound Trust during Covid and to launch the Greyhound Retirement Scheme (GRS) in September.

Government will continue to work with the betting and greyhound industries to make sure that greyhound welfare is safeguarded and remains at the heart of the sport.