Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on (a) racism and (b) discrimination in cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that racism has no place in cricket, sport, or society at large. I regularly meet with the England and Wales Cricket Board to discuss a range of issues, including equality, diversity and inclusion.
It is ultimately for all individual sports’ national governing bodies, to decide on the specific aims, appropriate initiatives and funding to tackle discrimination in their organisations.
The ECB has provided a full response to the 2023 Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, and has publicly committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport. Government will be monitoring closely to ensure that progress is made.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation of (a) girls and (b) women in cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting women's sport at every opportunity including pushing for greater participation.
We are pleased to see the significant progress in the number of women and girls taking up cricket in recent years, and wider developments in the women’s game, as noted by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s five year plan, Inspiring Generations, launched in 2020 aims to inspire a new generation to believe that ‘cricket is a game for me’. The plan focuses on six priority areas including making cricket gender-neutral with women and girls being properly represented across the whole game.
Initiatives like Chance to Shine, which receives funding from Sport England, play an important role in encouraging girls to play cricket. The project gives all children the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.
The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report notes that while positive progress has been made in the women’s game, there are still areas of concern where more action is needed.
The ECB has provided a full response to the ICEC report and has committed to taking on board the majority of the recommendations to create lasting change across the sport. We welcome the ECB’s commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues and secure a sustainable future for the sport, and look forward to receiving updates on this.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) girls and (b) boys who play (i) football and (ii) other sports at (A) primary and (B) secondary school.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not routinely collect data about which sports pupils participate in during the school day. It is up to schools to decide which sports they offer, so that they can meet the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing which sports schools may offer include the space and equipment available.
The department asked what types of sports were available to Year 7 to Year 11 pupils in the Parent, Pupil and Learner Panel, covering the 2021/22 academic year. Girls reported that they were less likely to have football, basketball, cricket and rugby available to them during PE lessons in comparison to boys. By contrast, girls did report that they were more likely to have rounders, netball, badminton, dance, gymnastics and volleyball available to them. Further information can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parent-pupil-and-learner-panel-omnibus-surveys-for-2021-to-2022. Schools can and do separate sporting experiences for boys and girls on the grounds of safety and fairness, but they should take the time to reflect on how this affects girls and boys accessing the same sports equally.
The Active Lives Children and Young People Survey data for the 2022/23 academic year was published by Sport England on 7 December 2023 and shows a significant increase of 4 percentage points of girls in Years 1-11 playing football over the last week compared to the baseline data collected in the 2017/18 academic year. This data is accessible at: https://sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-12/Active%20Lives%20Children%20and%20Young%20People%20Survey%20-%20academic%20year%202022-23%20report.pdf?VersionId=3N7GGWZMKy88UPsGfnJVUZkaTklLwB_.
On 8 March 2023, the department announced over £600 million in for the primary PE and sport premium in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, and £57 million up to March 2025 for the Opening School Facilities programme. Schools can use this funding to increase their sport provision, raise overall quality of PE and improve the opportunities for all boys and girls to access sports.
In July 2023, the government published the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which set out the expectation for schools to provide girls and boys with the same access and opportunity to play sports in PE and wider school sport. To encourage this, the government has overseen a change to the School Games Mark, which is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. From September 2023, schools must demonstrate how they are overcoming gender barriers faced by girls and boys in PE and wider school sport as part of their planning and delivery.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the awayday held for staff in her Department's policy group on 29 November 2023, how many members of staff attended; what activities did it involve; and whether any costs were incurred in addition to the hire costs for the venue.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Policy Group away day was attended by approximately 360 people in person, with approximately 35 joining online.
The away day was an opportunity for staff working on different policy areas to develop skills, network with other policy professionals and learn about the sectors the Department supports.
The away day was structured in two parts, with informative visits to various organisations within the Department's sectors within central London taking place in the morning, and a conference taking place at Lord’s Cricket Ground in the afternoon.
The afternoon featured three main activities. These included an interactive session delivered by the Department’s Policy Profession on skills and skills gaps within the Group, a session on communication and the art of explanation by an external speaker, and a session on including the “Youth Voice” in policy, led by one of the Department’s arms-length bodies.
Costs incurred were in relation to venue hire, which included catering and an audio visual package. The venue was chosen after an extensive search and procurement process, as well as for its links to one of the sectors the Department oversees. No costs were incurred for any of the morning visits, nor for any of the afternoon sessions.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support is available to cricket clubs in England.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport including cricket through our Arms Length Body, Sport England - which receives over £100 million in Exchequer funding each year.
As a system partner of Sport England the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received £11.6 million of funding covering the years 2022-2027 to grow and develop cricket across the country.
Since 2019, Sport England has invested a further £23.6 million in projects and schemes which enable participation in cricket. This includes £9,564 of support that has been provided to clubs in the East Devon constituency in response to issues such as Covid-19 and emergency funding for storm-damaged facilities.
Further information on funding options available from both the ECB and Sport England can be found on the ECB’s website- Here
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their strategy to increase and widen the opportunity for people to participate in playing cricket.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting the growth of cricket, and widening participation in the sport at all levels.
HM Government is working closely with Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to help increase participation in cricket in those parts of the United Kingdom. Since 2019, Sport England has invested more than £34 million in cricket projects, including over £11.6 million which has been awarded to the ECB as one of Sport England’s system partners.
The ECB launched its Youth Strategy in 2022, which aims to target cricket delivery in schools where the pupils are most likely to miss out on the opportunity to play. This involves delivering cricket – through Chance to Shine and the Lord’s Taverners – in schools with a high proportion of pupils qualifying for free school meals and in special educational needs schools and units. In the last academic year, the ECB reached 50,000 pupils through this programme.
The ECB is also aiming to provide equal access for women and girls by delivering 2,000 gender-balanced clubs, 6,000 women’s and girls’ teams, and recruiting 6,000 volunteers to deliver recreational cricket in time for the 2026 Women’s World Cup. Over recent years the ECB has also worked with Sport England to recruit over 2,000 female British South Asian volunteers as part of the ‘Dream Big’ programme.
Supporting participation in sport, including cricket, in Northern Ireland is primarily the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and Sport Northern Ireland. The National Lottery supports participation in sport across the United Kingdom via its Lottery Distributing Bodies, which include Sport Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many state schools in the last ten years had grounds that were used for playing cricket; and what steps they are taking to increase access for state schools for participation in cricket.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data about which sports pupils participate in on school premises during the school day.
Schools can organise and deliver a diverse and challenging PE and school sport activities which best suits the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing that decision include the spaces available along with the available equipment.
Where schools provide specific sports such as cricket, the department encourages them to draw on support from the relevant national governing body. The England and Wales Cricket Board offer a wide range of resources and age appropriate guidance and advice for delivering cricket in schools.
On 8 March 2023, the department announced over £600 million across the next two academic years for the Primary PE and Sport Premium, and £57 million up to March 2025 for the Opening School Facilities programme. Schools in England can use funding from these programmes to increase provision and raise the quality of sports such as cricket.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket, what recent discussions her Department has had with (a) the ECB and (b) the MCC on that report's findings.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. It is for the England and Wales Cricket Board to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report, and we welcome their commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is having regular conversations with the ECB to discuss what actions they will take in response.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct conversations with Marylebone Cricket Club.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report Holding Up A Mirror To Cricket, if her Department will discuss recommendation 18 of that report with the MCC.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. It is for the England and Wales Cricket Board to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report, and we welcome their commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is having regular conversations with the ECB to discuss what actions they will take in response.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct conversations with Marylebone Cricket Club.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help implement the recommendations in the report of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket entitled Holding up a mirror to cricket.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is clear that there is absolutely no place for racism, discrimination, bullying or harassment in sport or society. It is for the England and Wales Cricket Board to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report, and we welcome their commitment to bring forward a plan to tackle these serious issues, which must be addressed fully. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is having regular conversations with the ECB to discuss what actions they will take in response.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct conversations with Marylebone Cricket Club.