Finance Bill

Lord Mann Excerpts

2nd reading & Committee negatived & 3rd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee negatived (Hansard) & Committee negatived (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 17th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, this morning the Prime Minister announced that he hopes to see spectators at sports such as football by October; I trust that there is a plan on top of the hope. I suggest that the best approach to look at is the creation of spectator bubbles—in other words, the same group of 10 or 20 supporters sitting together but socially distanced from the next spectator bubble, attending each match and with no variation among them. This would allow an effective test and trace system to operate, should any of them go down with Covid, and allow the opportunity for income and spectators and the joy from that to flow back into sports such as football. An effective plan is very much needed.

I urge the Government to ensure that other policy decisions do not impinge on sport. I refer specifically to the growing demands for restrictions on gambling advertising; it is an important debate. Take one of the clubs about to be relegated from the Premier League, Norwich City, whose last accounts showed a £30 million annual loss: some 9% of its turnover comes from revenue from shirt advertising. Aston Villa, precariously positioned in the Premier League, had a £112 million annual loss in its last accounts and 12% of its turnover comes from shirt revenue. Across the Premier League, half the clubs have their shirt revenue from the gambling industry. In the Championship, it is 16 out of 24 clubs. This will be devastating at this time.

I also urge the Government to look further at the high street, not least in the red wall. The companies going bust in recent times include Peter Jones in Wakefield, Cardinal shopfitters of Yorkshire, Harveys, Boots Opticians, Poundstretcher, Monsoon, Bonmarché, Ena Shaw of St Helens and Beales of Keighley, Mansfield and Peterborough, on top of those that went last year such as Jessops, Mothercare, Clintons, Thomas Cook and Yorkshire Linen. These are the high street stores in the red wall that we most recognise. The situation is precarious, and the situation with landlords we are seeing with Bonmarché properties is perhaps even more precarious. High streets in the north and Midlands are in danger of decimation. There will need to be additional intervention if they are to be saved over the next six months.