Football Governance Bill (Seventh sitting)

Debate between Mike Wood and Stuart Andrew

Committee stage
Thursday 23rd May 2024 Public Bill Committees

[The Lord Commissioner of His Majesty’s Treasury (Mike Wood)]

Before I move the Adjournment, I would like to express my thanks to you, Ms Nokes, to Sir Mark, Sir Christopher and Mr Sharma, to the Clerks of the Committee and to all its members. I wish all those who are standing for re-election the best of luck—but not too much luck, in some cases.

I beg to move, That further consideration of the Bill be now adjourned.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)]

It is with a very heavy heart that I stand here thinking about all the work that has gone into preparing the Bill, the foundations of which were set in stone by my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford. She put in an enormous amount of work to make sure that we had a strong evidence base for a Bill that would be effective for the future of English football. I am extremely grateful to her for all that she has done. I know how passionately she cares about this.

I thank those who supported my hon. Friend in that work, not least the Football Supporters’ Association, Kevin Miles and everyone who spent hours and hours listening to evidence. That helped us to produce initially the White Paper and eventually the Bill.

I pay tribute to the officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. When I was first appointed as sports Minister, most of my friends laughed, but the Department’s officials have managed to make me understand more about football than I ever thought I would. They have been phenomenal at making sure that the Bill has been drafted as it is. I am incredibly grateful to them.

I thank the hon. Member for Barnsley East, who has been constructive throughout the whole process. I have really appreciated it.

I thank all members of the Committee, and indeed colleagues across the House, for their help and support over the past few weeks. We have had positive engagement as we have tried to address the challenges and issues that needed to be dealt with. There is a Bill ready to go, so I hope that whoever wins the next election will realise that this is a good piece of legislation that is quick and easy to pick up.