Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring football clubs to contribute towards the cost of matchday policing.

Section 25 of the Police Act 1996 allows the police to recover costs for Special Police Services. This includes the policing of events, including football matches.

However, the proportion of costs recoverable is currently constrained by case law. As a result, each year police forces in England and Wales incur costs in the tens of millions of pounds from policing commercial events like football.

The Home Office is concerned that the cost of policing football matches that is currently falling to the public purse is too high and is exploring ways to address this. This is an important issue that requires careful consideration in order to ensure a balance between the costs to the public purse and the wider cultural and economic value of these events.