Football Governance Bill [HL]

Lord Goodman of Wycombe Excerpts

Report stage
Monday 17th March 2025 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Goodman of Wycombe]

81: After Clause 89, insert the following new Clause—
“Review: cost of complianceWithin one year of the day on which section 15 of this Act comes into force, the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a review of the financial impact on regulated clubs of complying with the provisions in this Act.”

[Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to move this amendment on behalf of my noble friend Lord Maude. I will also speak to my own amendments, Amendments 91 to 93, 94A and 94B, which are consequential on the Government’s Amendment 90. What all these amendments have in common is that they are all about post-legislative review. To explain them, I go back very briefly to when, in Committee, I tabled a sunset clause suggesting an independent review that would report to the House, with a power to recommend that the regulator either continue, continue under certain conditions or cease to operate. While I am not at all sure that there was a consensus for the sunset clause, there was very clearly a consensus across the Committee for better post-legislative review.

On that score, I am delighted to see government Amendment 90, because it contains, to my mind, some of the key objectives I was seeking to put forward in the sunset clause. If noble Lords read the clause that the Government have tabled, they will see that it sets out a review, it sets out that the objectives of the regulator will be reviewed, and it will even be seen whether the regulator’s objectives remain necessary. This is a very big concession by the Government. If the tone of debate on Report has been better than in Committee, I think it is partly because the Government have moved on several very important elements, one being growth and another being this. I gather that it is extremely rare to put a post-legislative review of this kind into a Bill, and I think the Government should be congratulated on that. I read it as an escape clause for the Government. In the event of the regulator going wrong, there will be this fundamental review, so I think the Government are being prudent in so doing.

My amendments to government Amendment 90 simply seek to ensure that the review is carried out by independent persons—the same sort of independent people I named in the sunset clause—who would then report to the House. My noble friend Lord Maude’s amendment specifically proposes an examination of the financial effects of the regulator on clubs, because he fears they will be damaging. Once again, I am very grateful to the Government for their Amendment 90 and I wait with interest to see what the Minister will say in response to these amendments.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, I rise briefly to thank the Government for Amendment 90. It is the sort of thing that improves a Bill, improves the ongoing process of a Bill and means that it is not just dead when it finishes going through its parliamentary life. There probably should be far more of these in legislation, so I thank the Government.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister. This has been an extremely positive debate. The noble Baroness, Lady Fox, was right to point out in detail that the Government prepared, in Clause 90, a potential line of retreat. Whether they have or have not, the Government have certainly listened to calls across the House for greater post-legislative scrutiny. I particularly enjoyed the distinguished contribution of my noble friend Lord Norton, who has long displayed a great interest in these matters. Given what the Minister said, I have no intention of pressing Amendment 81 —or the other amendments—to a vote this evening.

Amendment 81 withdrawn.