Clause 15 - General betting duty: pool betting
Finance Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead, Labour)
I suppose that I should declare an interest—although it has to do more with money being paid out than money coming in—in that I half own a greyhound with my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard). In total, she has won about 10 races out of 64, including the one before last. I can give a tip to my hon. Friends: I think that she will win again in the next two or three races that she runs. The all-party greyhound group have a dog called Go Running Whip, which starts its campaign in the greyhound derby this Saturday. My hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow tells me that he is on it at 500:1, so he will be very rich if it wins.
The clause is about gambling and the greyhound industry. I welcome the fact that there will be no betting tax for dog racing, which will be a boost to the industry. I understand that there has been an agreement between the British Greyhound Racing Board and the bookmakers for an increased levy on the bookmakers, the proceeds from which will go to the industry. Some of that money will also go to the welfare of the greyhounds, particularly retired ones. That is important; not enough has been done on that in the past. The industry has made improvements to look after retired greyhounds. I welcome that, although more needs to be done. I am also sympathetic to an important campaign on the issue by the League Against Cruel Sports.
The problem with the levy is that it is voluntary. In the past, a number of the bookmakers have not paid up. They are a minority, but I believe that even now a number of bookmakers are saying that they will not pay up to the levy. They are freeloading on the sport and on the industry. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport and Tourism has made some strong statements on the issue and expressed his concern about non-paying bookies. I would like the Economic Secretary to say whether he will keep an eye on the situation. All the bookies should pay. If the voluntary scheme does not operate properly, it should be made compulsory, so that the money can be available for the industry. Will my hon. Friend also look at how the money from the levy is spent and ensure that it goes towards the rehoming of retired greyhounds?
I recently made a donation. Under the gift aid scheme, if an individual gives £100, another £28 can go to the charity. Would it be possible to extend the scheme to businesses such as greyhound tracks and bookmakers, perhaps by allowing an offset against their tax bill, so that additional money could be raised for the retirement of greyhounds? I hope that the Economic Secretary will consider that suggestion.