Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Leader of the House on establishing an independent football regulator.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
On 23 February 2023, the Government published its ‘A Sustainable Future: Reforming Club Football Governance’ White Paper on reforms to football governance, committing to legislate for a statutory regulator for English football. This followed the Government’s Response, published in April 2022, to the independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance.
The Government subsequently undertook a targeted consultation period, including inviting comments from all 116 football clubs in the top five tiers of English football; the relevant leagues and existing footballing bodies; fan groups; legal experts; industry experts; leading academics; and civil society organisations. The Government Response was published on 7 September 2023.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, published on 23 February 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the establishment of a shadow board of fans as a condition of the football club licensing process.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The football governance white paper set out how we will put fans back at the heart of football.
The Independent Football Regulator will introduce strong new legal protections to safeguard the heritage of clubs and ensure fans’ voices are heard. Clubs will not be able to make changes to their badge or home shirt colours without explicit fan approval. The Government has worked with the FA to ensure these protections are in place now, and the Regulator will act as a statutory backstop to ensure this cannot change.
The Regulator must approve any proposal to move or sell the stadium, and must consider the views of fans and impact on club heritage where a relocation is sought. Clubs can only participate in competitions which are approved by the Regulator against a set of published criteria. This will prevent English clubs from joining unapproved breakaway leagues such as the European Super League.
This will provide fans with irreversible, strong legal protections to prevent damage to the most important aspects of their clubs.
The Government is committed to delivering on the Football Governance White Paper and will legislate where parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, published on 23 February 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring fans to be given a golden share as a condition of the football club licensing process.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The football governance white paper set out how we will put fans back at the heart of football.
The Independent Football Regulator will introduce strong new legal protections to safeguard the heritage of clubs and ensure fans’ voices are heard. Clubs will not be able to make changes to their badge or home shirt colours without explicit fan approval. The Government has worked with the FA to ensure these protections are in place now, and the Regulator will act as a statutory backstop to ensure this cannot change.
The Regulator must approve any proposal to move or sell the stadium, and must consider the views of fans and impact on club heritage where a relocation is sought. Clubs can only participate in competitions which are approved by the Regulator against a set of published criteria. This will prevent English clubs from joining unapproved breakaway leagues such as the European Super League.
This will provide fans with irreversible, strong legal protections to prevent damage to the most important aspects of their clubs.
The Government is committed to delivering on the Football Governance White Paper and will legislate where parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, published on 23 February 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring an equality, diversity and inclusion action plan as a condition of the football club licensing process.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government supports calls for further action to be taken on a range of issues in the domestic game, including equality, diversity and inclusion. We welcome the industry’s ongoing efforts to improve transparency and its commitment to provide equity and fair opportunities for all. Since the publication of the Fan-Led Review, the football leagues and the FA have introduced enhanced equality requirements for football clubs.
The Government acknowledges that there is still more progress to be made and will continue to work with the leagues, the FA, and other organisations to encourage reform where appropriate.
However, as set out in the White Paper and the government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee consultation, the primary strategic purpose of the Regulator will be to ensure that English football is sustainable and resilient for the benefit of fans and the local communities that football clubs serve. As such, the Regulator will focus on the financial sustainability of clubs, the systemic stability of the football pyramid and protecting club heritage.
Action on wider issues, including equality, diversity and inclusion, is best led by industry.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 89 of the policy paper entitled A sustainable future - reforming club football governance, what recent discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on the potential merits of conducting (a) trials for alcohol sales in sight of the pitch for clubs in the National League and League Two and (b) a review of the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We recognise the need to balance the potential commercial benefits of alcohol sales in the lower leagues with concerns around safety and disorder. We will keep this matter under review in conjunction with the Home Office.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 2.6 of Reforms to subcontracting education for learners over 16, what steps she has taken to ensure that lead 16-19 education providers have direct contractual relationships with third parties providing specialist input.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has updated the subcontracting rules to stipulate that when a subcontractor wants to appoint and work with a third party, which could include a sports club, it is the provider who must have a direct contractual relationship with the third party and not the subcontractor (point 86). This rule is monitored through the standard subcontracting reporting and audit requirements, including the individualised learner record and subcontracting declaration, which from 2022 must also include the declaration of subcontracting of any employability, enrichment and pastoral activity. The department has also introduced the subcontracting standard which Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) providers must meet if the aggregate total of all subcontractors delivering ESFA funded provision exceeds or is anticipated to exceed £100,000 in any single funding year.
The department is reviewing sports provision with the Football Association and the Association of Colleges. All subcontracted sports provision must adhere to the relevant subcontracting rules.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 2.6 of Reforms to subcontracting education for learners over 16, what steps she has taken to develop a good practice guide for sports provision with the Football Association and the Association of Colleges.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has updated the subcontracting rules to stipulate that when a subcontractor wants to appoint and work with a third party, which could include a sports club, it is the provider who must have a direct contractual relationship with the third party and not the subcontractor (point 86). This rule is monitored through the standard subcontracting reporting and audit requirements, including the individualised learner record and subcontracting declaration, which from 2022 must also include the declaration of subcontracting of any employability, enrichment and pastoral activity. The department has also introduced the subcontracting standard which Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) providers must meet if the aggregate total of all subcontractors delivering ESFA funded provision exceeds or is anticipated to exceed £100,000 in any single funding year.
The department is reviewing sports provision with the Football Association and the Association of Colleges. All subcontracted sports provision must adhere to the relevant subcontracting rules.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the EU has prevented the use of proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club to support victims of the war in Ukraine and its wider consequences; and if so, what assessment they have made of the legal basis for the EU to exercise a veto over the use of UK-based assets.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No, the EU has not prevented the use of proceeds. An independent charitable foundation is being established to manage the proceeds from the sale. Once it has been established, a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will be required to move the proceeds to the foundation. As set out in the unilateral declaration on 30 May 2022, the government is committed to only issuing a licence which ensures that the proceeds are used for exclusively humanitarian purposes in Ukraine, and to working closely with the Portuguese Government and the European Commission on this.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to carry out a statistical analysis of the economic contribution of football clubs to the UK economy.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Football clubs make a significant contribution to the UK economy and the communities in which they operate. Ernst & Young have estimated that the Premier League contributed £7.6 billion to the UK economy in the 2019/20 season.
As well as being economic powerhouses, football clubs are also important local assets which deliver significant benefits to the communities of which they are a key part. Impact analysis conducted by the English Football League indicates that clubs and their Club Community Organisations created over £865 million of social value across England and Wales in the 2021/22 season.
Asked by: Nicola Richards (Conservative - West Bromwich East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to allow proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to be made available to UK charities for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In a statement announcing the sale of Chelsea FC and in subsequent statements, Mr Abramovich stated that a charitable foundation would be set up, where all net proceeds from the sale would be donated. Humanitarian experts outside of Government are now responsible for the highly complex process to establish this foundation to manage and distribute the proceeds for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. The proceeds are currently frozen in a UK bank account. Any movement of the proceeds requires a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.