Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the debate that took place at the Council of Europe between 24 and 28 January 2022 on football governance.

The Government is committed to reforming football governance, and recognises the crucial work of the Council of Europe and in particular the PACE in this sphere, noting that recommendations will go to the Committee of Ministers in due course for appropriate review.

The Government recognises the need for the long-term financial sustainability of football clubs, particularly those in the lower leagues. That is why we have welcomed the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance and have endorsed in principle the primary recommendation of the review, that football requires a strong, independent regulator to secure the future of our national game.

The Government is working at pace to review the report in full, including detailed consideration of the recommendations made on improving financial stability and the governance of football clubs across the game, as we work towards issuing a full response to the report in the Spring.