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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority regarding the requirement for a form of rail seating on spectator behaviour in the next football season; and when they will report on the requirement to move to the full rail seating required for safe standing.

The Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) has already set out the technical requirements needed for seats with barriers or independent barriers in the current (6th) edition of its Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide). Additionally, the SGSA’s current all-seater policy enforcement approach details, amongst other things, how to identify risks to spectator safety arising from persistent standing in seated areas, and potential mitigation for such risks.

It is for a football club to decide, in consultation with the relevant local authority and other partners, which parts of its ground would benefit from seats with barriers or seats with independent barriers to address the identified risks to spectator safety.