World Cup Ticket Prices
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Twycross(1 week, 4 days ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
In response, and echoing my noble friend Lady Hayman from earlier, absolutely: yes.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, will the Government set up fast courts to prosecute price-gouging and profiteering from the sale of football World Cup tickets?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I have to be clear to my noble friend that this year’s World Cup tickets are allowed to be resold in the US. This year, we are celebrating quite a big anniversary in relation to the independence of the US, and we are not currently able to legislate on ticket resale in the US.
2026 FIFA World Cup: Replica Kit Pricing
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Twycross(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
The CMA does not come under DCMS, as people will understand, but we are keen to make sure that it has the teeth to take action. I have a line somewhere in my brief about the additional powers that we are giving it, and I know that those are intended specifically to give it the teeth to act decisively and provide the challenge as part of the regulatory regime that it operates.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, the production cost of a typical replica football kit is less than 10% of the selling price. Companies such as Nike and Adidas use an opaque network of offshore entities to inflate costs by adding royalty, licensing, marketing and other payments through intragroup transactions—in short, they shift profits. Does the Minister agree that profiteering cannot be tackled without an investigation of profit shifting by companies? If so, when will the Government commission that investigation?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
My noble friend has raised a number of issues. We are keen, to go back to the initial Question, to urge manufacturers to keep kits affordable. We want to make sure that football remains accessible, but pricing is ultimately a matter for the relevant football association and its manufacturing partners. We are not intending to dictate pricing in this respect, but we urge manufacturers to keep kits affordable to make sure that everyone can enjoy supporting our teams domestically and internationally and that we continue to share the highs and lows of our national sport.
Telegraph Media Group
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Twycross(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
The noble Lord makes a fair comment, and I will pass on his comments to the Secretary of State.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, can the Minister explain some contradictions here? On the one hand, the Government are quite keen that a foreign Government should not own a UK newspaper, while being simultaneously content for foreign Governments, including dictatorships, to own UK water, energy, rail, ports, airports, oil, gas, hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries and more. Why this hypocrisy about foreign Governments that is just applicable to newspapers?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
My noble friend is allowing me to explain why we want a pluralistic free press. It is fundamental to our democracy. I think that there is a difference between foreign investment in other parts of the UK economy, including utilities, and the free press that is a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy, and which we want to continue without foreign state interference.
National Insurance: Charity Sector
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Twycross(1 year, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
Without wanting to repeat what my noble friend Lord Livermore would have said had he been here, we inherited a £22 billion black hole. I appreciate the sector’s concern, but, regrettably, as part of the Autumn Budget, the Government had to take a number of difficult decisions on tax and welfare spending. I know the Chancellor highlighted this decision as one of the hardest she had to make in respect of the Autumn Budget.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the impact of national insurance contributions on the charity sector can be alleviated by levying national insurance on capital gains and dividends?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
That is a matter for the Chancellor, and I will pass on my noble friend’s suggestion.
National Youth Strategy
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Twycross
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
One of the things about not having a youth strategy that goes across government is that we have not necessarily had joined-up work. I am happy to get a response to the noble and learned Baroness on that, but my understanding is that this is one of the issues that the Young Futures hubs will work on. They are committed to intervening early to stop young people being drawn into crime and other poor outcomes.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, can the Minister say how many youth clubs were closed during the Conservative Government’s time in office, and how many will be reopened within the next year or two?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
I do not have a specific answer on how many were closed, but I think it was a lot. Local authorities’ youth funding in England fell by 73% under the previous Government and, between 2011-12 and 2022-23, the number of local authority-run youth centres—actually, I do have the figure—fell by 53% in England, from 917 to just 425. If you are looking at legacies of the previous Government, that is quite a damning indictment.
Ticket Sales: Dynamic Pricing
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Twycross(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Twycross (Lab)
It is appropriate to undertake further consultation in light of recent events. If we went on just the previous consultation—I know it is something we committed to—it would not necessarily have included this. It is right that we consult further on additional consumer protections, and the Government will do so over the autumn. I hope that noble Lords across the House will take part in the consultation and encourage everyone affected by this, as so many people are, to take part.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, the correct expression is customer fleecing, not dynamic pricing. Too many companies are profiteering while luring customers with misleading advertising, misleading prices and violation of implied sale of goods contracts. This abuse is wide- spread. Train companies, airlines, hotels, theatres, Uber, Amazon and Airbnb are some of those engaging in this abuse. We need action. Can the Minister say when the first prosecution can be expected?
Baroness Twycross (Lab)
Dynamic pricing is not illegal. Businesses must follow consumer protection law when they engage with their consumers using dynamic pricing.