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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that (a) the Independent Football Regulator plays an integral role in the process to settle the distribution deal and (b) the distribution deal must pass parameters set by the regulator.

The Independent Football Regulator will only have the power to intervene on distributions as a last resort. The backstop mechanism has been designed to give the industry the opportunity and incentives to reach a timely, industry-led solution to distributions and it is right that the Regulator only steps in as a last resort.

If the relevant leagues cannot reach an agreement independently, they can apply to trigger the backstop. Then, if certain thresholds are met, the backstop can be triggered.

First, the relevant leagues will enter into a period of mediation and, if there is still no agreement, they will move to a final proposal stage.

At this point, the Regulator would convene an independent expert panel that will set out the relevant questions that need to be addressed through the arbitration and invite final proposals from both relevant leagues with accompanying analysis. The independent expert panel will then choose the proposal most consistent with the regulator’s objectives with consideration to potential burden on the commercial interests of the leagues. If neither proposal is consistent, the regulator will terminate the process without making a distribution order.