Tag: resignations

Changing The Boundaries report: Scottish Cricket ‘institutionally racist’

Plan4Sport, the organisation leading an independent review into racism in Scottish cricket, has today (Monday 25 July) published its final report.

Global Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) experts, Plan4Sport, were commissioned by Scotland’s national agency for sport, sportscotland, to lead the independent review in December 2021. The review process included almost 1,000 direct engagements from a broad cross-section of all levels of Scottish cricket.

The Plan4Sport Changing The Boundaries report found the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist. It confirms 448 examples that demonstrated institutional racism. Reoccurring themes were mapped against 31 indicators of institutional racism, with 29 failing to meet the standard required and only two partially meeting the standard.

As part of the review 68 individual concerns have been referred for further investigation. These relate to 31 allegations of racism against 15 different people, two clubs and one Regional Association. In some instances, multiple concerns have been raised against individuals. Some of these alleged incidents are recent while others were non-recent. These investigations will be concluded in due course.

Other key findings include:

  • 62% of all survey respondents had experienced, seen, or had reported to them incidents of racism, inequalities or discrimination.
  • A lack of any EDI or anti-racist training in place for board, staff, volunteers, players, coaches or umpires.
  • No consistent mechanism or process for handling racist incidents and people who did raise issues were sidelined or ignored.
  • A lack of diversity from board level and Hall of Fame right through the coaching workforce within the talent pathway.
  • Lack of transparency in the selection process in the talent pathway and the absence of a single uniform approach to selection.

Changing The Boundaries includes three immediate high-level recommendations, with associated sub recommendations, including: 

  • Cricket Scotland is placed in special measures by sportscotland until at least October 2023.
    • Cricket Scotland to commence an immediate recruitment process for new independent Board members, with appointments made no later than 30 September 2022.
    • The diversity of Board members should be a minimum of 40% men and 40% women, ensuring that a minimum of 25% of the total Board makeup come from of Black, South-East Asian, or other mixed or multiple ethnic groups.
    • Action Plan to be developed by Cricket Scotland which addresses the immediate actions and short-term KPIs. The Action Plan should be approved by sportscotland not later than 30 September 2022.
  • Western District Cricket Union (WDCU) is placed in special measures by Cricket Scotland with immediate effect.
    • Temporary and immediate suspension of WDCU’s role in managing all disciplinary matters relating to its competitions and clubs. These are to be handed to an alternative organisation to manage.
    • An urgent, independent review into the overall effectiveness of WDCU’s governance, and its culture of inclusion, as a Regional Association of Cricket Scotland, to be completed by the end of September. This does not include the Western District Junior Cricket Union.
  • Cricket Scotland addresses the backlog in referrals generated from the review.
    • All investigations resulting from referrals to be expedited by a third party with the appropriate expertise.

Managing Director of Plan4Sport, Louise Tideswell, said: “We’ve been working on the review since January this year and our view is clear: the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland have been institutionally racist. 

“Over the review period we have seen the bravery of so many people coming forward to share their stories which had clearly impacted on their lives. People who have loved cricket and, despite the many knockbacks, continued to try and make progress, umpires who committed so many hours even though promotion never came, and players who saw or heard racism and hostility, but kept coming back to play.

“The reality is that the leadership of the organisation failed to see the problems and, in failing to do so, enabled a culture of racially aggravated micro-aggressions to develop. It didn’t address the lack of diversity at board and staff level and missed the need to develop transparent reporting, investigation and case management processes to address incidents of racism and discrimination.

“But I also want to add that whilst the governance and leadership practices of the organisation have been institutionally racist, the same should not be said for cricket in Scotland. There are many outstanding clubs and individuals delivering local programmes which truly engage with diverse communities.

“We have heard from grassroots players, volunteers and umpires who were passionate about ensuring cricket was open and welcoming to everyone. Plan4Sport sees this as a real opportunity to invest in and build on the good work already taking place through development programmes and club opportunities to truly create a game for everyone.”

Chief Executive of sportscotland, Stewart Harris, said: “We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the review, particularly those who came forward to share their experiences.

“This will have been a very difficult, and in some cases traumatic experience, and we hope this report provides the victims with some degree of assurance that their voices have been heard and that action will be taken.

“We also want to thank Louise Tideswell and the team of experts from Plan4Sport, who have worked tirelessly over the past seven months. They have shown an incredible degree of professionalism, compassion and empathy when speaking to the hundreds of people who contributed to the Changing The Boundaries report.

“The findings in this report are deeply concerning and in some cases shocking. Sport should be a welcoming place for all and it is unacceptable that anyone has suffered racist abuse and discrimination while playing the game they love.

“As the national agency for sport, we will work with and support Cricket Scotland to help change the culture of Scottish cricket and that must now be the focus. There has been some progress in recent months but we need to see more steps being taken to address the issues raised and importantly that includes the referrals.  

“We will keep all options on the table as we hold Cricket Scotland to account on all of the recommendations contained within this report.  

“Today should also act as a wake-up call for all of Scottish sport. Racism is a societal problem and it is no longer good enough to simply be non-racist, Scottish sport must now be actively anti-racist.”

Publication of Changing The Boundaries follows an in-depth consultation exercise involving hundreds of people from across all levels of Scottish cricket including grassroots players, staff, national squad players, board members, coaches, regional association management committee members and match officials and club members.

Responding to the Plan4Sport report into institutional racism in Cricket Scotland, Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “I am greatly saddened by the institutional racism within Cricket Scotland that has been uncovered by the Plan4Sport report.

“The extent of the racial and religious discrimination, and the seemingly casual disregard for any notion of good equalities practices within Cricket Scotland, are truly shocking.

“I echo the concerns voiced by the lawyer acting for Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh this week that the resignation of the entire Cricket Scotland board leaves nobody to account for such a damning indictment of the practices of a national sporting body, but meaningful action to clean up Scottish cricket is what will now matter most to players, staff and fans alike.

“Several incidents highlighted in the report remain open to police investigation and it is right that this happens to find if the law has been broken. What is clear from the report however is how many incidents fell short of illegality but were nonetheless motivated by racial animus. This pernicious underlying racism is a problem across society and must be rooted out wherever it is found.

“Lessons need to be learned. Asian players make a massive contribution to Scottish cricket and they should be welcomed at all levels of the game. I would be happy to facilitate constructive discussions that need to happen to progress the future of our beloved sport here in Scotland.

“We must ensure that remedies are promptly and effectively applied in the wake of this shameful episode. Cricket Scotland must clearly be overhauled, and Sportscotland have started this process. But it is now up to the whole of Scottish civil society to ensure that this is not only followed through in a way that makes a tangible change to people within the sport, but also that the warning signs from Cricket Scotland can be recognised and swiftly dealt in future.

“Together we must ensure that the environment that has been allowed to fester in Cricket Scotland is not present in any of our other national sporting bodies, and ensure that such grotesque failures as these are never again allowed to happen within Scottish sport.”

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Changing The Boundaries: Independent review into racism in Scottish cricket

Tax cut worth up to £330 comes in for 30 million workers

  • 30 million people across the UK will benefit from the biggest personal tax cut in a decade from today
  • ‘Hard working Brits’ will save up to £330 per year – 2.2 million lifted out of personal tax altogether
  • 70% of UK workers now paying less National Insurance, even after accounting for the Health and Social Care Levy
  • 30 million people across the UK will benefit from the biggest personal tax in a decade from today – with hard working Brits saving up to £330 per year.

The £6 billion tax cut will see the level at which people start paying National Insurance rise to £12,570 – lifting 2.2 million people out of paying any personal tax and ensuring people get to keep more of the money they earn.

The threshold change means that 70% of UK workers will pay less National Insurance, even after accounting for the Health and Social Care Levy that is funding the biggest catch up programme in NHS history and putting an end to spiralling social care costs.

Speaking before his resignation last night, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “I know rising prices are putting pressure on hard-working families across the UK – which is why we’ve stepped in to help to ease the burden with a £37 billion package of support this year, including at least £1,200 going directly to the 8 million most vulnerable families.

“Today marks the next stage in that package, with the biggest personal tax cut in over a decade coming in to help millions of workers across the UK keep up to £330 more each year.”

The Prime Minister (at time of writing, anyway – Ed.) said: “We know it’s tough for many families across the UK, but we want you to know that this government is on your side.

“Today’s tax cut means around 70 per cent of British workers will pay less National Insurance – even after accounting for the Health and Social Care Levy that is funding the biggest catch up programme in NHS history and putting an end spiralling social care costs.

“So whether you are a receptionist, work in hospitality or are a delivery driver, this tax cut is likely to make you and your family better off.”

From today the level at which people start paying National Insurance has risen from £9,880 to £12,570.

This change means that millions of people working across hundreds of different industries across the UK will now be better off.

This includes bricklayers who’ll save £218, care workers who’ll save £324, hairdressers who will get a £118 benefit and nursery assistants who’ll get a £343 yearly boost.

Workers can check their salary in the government’s online tool to estimate the amount they could save between July 2022 to July 2023.

The last major personal tax cut of today’s magnitude was nearly ten years ago, when the income tax personal allowance increased by £1,100 in 2013. Today’s threshold change is more than double that, as working people are now able to hold on to an extra £2,690 free from tax.

Today’s change to National Insurance thresholds comes as part of the Chancellor’s wider vision for a lower tax economy. At the Spring Statement Mr Sunak announced a 1p income tax cut in 2024 – which will be the first cut to the basic rate in 16 years and will save the average taxpayer a further £175 a year.

The Chancellor also committed to cutting and reforming business taxes later this year in the autumn, to help spur business growth and productivity. The government is currently working with industry on how best to do that.

The increase to the National Insurance thresholds will leave around 76% of National Insurance payers in the North East better, 75% in the North West and Merseyside, and 62% in London.

Today’s landmark personal tax cut also comes as the government launched new Help for Households campaign designed to raise awareness and signpost people to the £37 billion in support on offer and targeted at those most in need.

The support provides millions of the most vulnerable households at least £1,200 of support in total this year to help with the cost of living, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400 to help with their bills.

It also includes a 5p fuel duty cut – the biggest cut ever to fuel duty rates, a rise in the national living wage to give full time workers an extra £1,000 and a cut to the Universal Credit taper rate to provide over 1 million families an extra £1,000.

The NICs threshold change takes effect following the government making tough but responsible decisions to manage the public finances responsibly and choosing not to saddle future generations with almost £400 billion of debt used to protect jobs and the economy during the pandemic – worth around £5,500 for every person in the UK.

The government had planned for this good news story to be the big news event of today, but those plans were scuppered by the resignation of two senior cabinet ministers last night. As former Prime Minister Harold MacMillan once ruefully observed: “Events, dear boy. Events” …