Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government when they expect to bring forward
legislation to implement the recommendations of the Fan-Led
Review of Football Governance, published on 24 November 2021; and
in particular, the proposal for an independent regulator.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ( of Whitley Bay) (Con)
My Lords, the Government published their response to the
recommendations made by the independent fan-led review of
football governance in April 2022. The Government recognise the
need for football to be reformed to ensure the game’s long-term
sustainability. We continue to consider the policy and consult
interested parties, but the Government remain committed to
publishing a White Paper setting out our detailed response to the
fan-led review.
(Lab)
My Lords, I warmly welcome the noble Lord back to his place on
the Front Bench and commiserate with the noble Lord, , his predecessor, but this is
part of the problem. The Conservative Party made a strong
manifesto commitment, as did our party, to hold a fan-led review
of football’s governance. I appreciate that we have had a year of
on-off, merry-go-round government, but a year has passed since
the review was published and nearly six months since the Queen’s
Speech announced a White Paper. When can we expect some
legislative protection for our football clubs? When can we start
to see the interests of the fans who give their support week in,
week out to football clubs properly represented? This has been
going on for far too long, and I think we are all beginning to
run out of patience.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I join the noble Lord in paying tribute to my noble friend , with whom I swapped places on
the substitutes’ bench; I hope that his stay there will be as
brief as mine. However, for all the changes in ministerial
positions, the work to continue examining the recommendations
made by , in commitment to and
fulfilment of our manifesto pledge, as the noble Lord said, has
continued at official level. The Secretary of State and my right
honourable friend the Sports Minister, who have stayed in place,
have been engaging with organisations. The Sports Minister made
sure that his first meeting was with the Football Supporters’
Association. They are taking the time to continue that engagement
and to look at the policy, and they will bring forward a White
Paper with the answers to these complex issues soon.
(LD)
My Lords, will the Minister assure us that the Government are
still in absolute agreement that there needs to be change and
that it will happen soon? If that is so, can they assure us that
we will not be talking about this in another year’s time, because
there needs to be action now? Those assurances are required, and
other sports have similar problems. I put my hand up as a rugby
union player.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Yes, we still agree that football needs to be reformed to secure
its long-term sustainability. Some of the action can be taken
now; it does not require legislation or government action. The
clubs can do it—for instance, on the financial flows throughout
the football pyramid. We continue to encourage clubs to do that,
and we are discussing the challenges facing rugby football clubs
as well.
(Lab)
My Lords, on 25 April, the noble Lord, , answered a Question from
the noble Lord, , about the fan-led review.
His first words were:
“My Lords, the Government have endorsed the principle that
football requires a strong independent regulator to secure the
future of our national game.”—[Official Report, 25/4/22; col.
4.]
He has not referred to a regulator in his answers so far today.
Can he confirm that it remains the Government’s policy? In an
interview with the Sun newspaper on 19 July, his right honourable
friend the Prime Minister was reported as having made the
following promise:
“In a bid to pitch himself as a footie-mad man of the people,
Tory frontrunner Mr Sunak promised to hand fans power over dodgy
owners in a radical shake-up. The diehard Southampton fan said he
would implement all ten of the recommendations from former sports
minister Tracey Crouch’s fan-led football review in time for the
World Cup.”
I do not think he can do it in time for the World Cup, but can
the Minister say whether it will be before the end of the
Parliament?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
My Lords, much has changed even since the Prime Minister made
those commitments. My right honourable friends the Secretary of
State and the Sports Minister are taking the time to consider the
recommendations of Tracey Crouch’s review. We remain grateful to
her and the thousands of fans who took part in it and informed
it. The noble Lord should not read any more into that than that
they are taking the time to look at this complex area of policy
and to discuss it with the FA, the EFL and supporters’
organisations among others. We will bring forward our response in
the White Paper.
(Lab)
My Lords, I declare an interest in so far as I am the president
of a football club with 47 children’s teams, and as a struggling
Evertonian. I spoke in April about the need for fans to have real
input and real say in the day-to-day running of their clubs in
their communities. Nothing has changed since then apart from the
fact that, particularly in the Premier League, more owners than
ever are foreign investors, particularly from the USA, or even
people from the Middle East who murder innocent journalists. Can
the Minister explain why these takeovers are being allowed to
happen in our national game, without the fans being given any
real say or influence?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
We want to give fans a strong voice in the governance of the
national game. That is why we had the fan-led review, and we are
grateful to everyone who took part in it. The response in April
stated that
“new owners’ and directors’ tests will help to ensure the future
sustainability of our … clubs”,
which play such an important role in their communities, and that
ensuring that football has suitable owners and directors is
crucial to securing the long-term future of the game.
(Lab)
The Minister has given some rather vague assurances today, which
cause some concern as to whether the Government will row back on
what has previously been said about the regulator in particular.
Can he be firmer about the commitment the Government will make?
These problems have been around for a long time. He has said that
we “will” get a White Paper and that they “will” consider the
problems. When will we get a White Paper?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
The White Paper will set out the detail that I am unable to give
at the Dispatch Box today. My right honourable friends the
Secretary of State and the Sports Minister have engaged directly
with football organisations and football supporters to discuss
the complex issues and to take forward the recommendations made
by and the fan-led review. The
White Paper will be coming soon, but I am afraid that I cannot
give the noble Baroness a date today.
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for the kind message regarding my being
put on the subs’ bench. I want to ask about the thinking in the
department. Can we still set the same objectives in a fan-led
review, but without a regulator, and are there alternatives that
may be considered just as effective?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
Officials and Ministers in the department are discussing the
recommendations of the fan-led review with all the interested
parties, taking into account all those views, and the White Paper
will provide the answers which my noble friend and others seek.
(LD)
My Lords, words such as “discussing” and “reviewing” indicate
that the department seems to be kicking this ball into touch.
Does the Minister recognise that, with every month and every year
that passes, clubs that have been part of communities are being
lost, and that more delay will mean that more clubs are lost?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
As I said to the noble Lord’s noble friend earlier, football
itself can take forward some of the recommendations in the
fan-led review which we endorsed in April, such as financial
redistribution throughout the leagues. We urge them strongly to
do that, and my right honourable friends have done so directly.
(Con)
My Lords, we need to be a little careful that we do not throw the
baby out with the bath water. The Premier League is the envy of
the world; it attracts the world’s best players. As a Liverpool
fan, I could not let this debate go by, being led just by an
Evertonian. I urge us to be very careful to ensure that the
Premier League stays the premier league.
of Whitley Bay (Con)
My noble friend raises some of the complex issues with which my
right honourable friends are grappling in their discussions with
everybody interested in this matter, including supporters’ groups
and the fans themselves, and they will bring forward our answers
in the White Paper.
(Lab)
My Lords, we have had two attempts on this side, first from my
noble friend Lord Faulkner and then from my noble friend Lady
Taylor, to get an answer to a specific question, which is whether
the Government stand by their commitment earlier this year and
endorse the principle that football requires a strong,
independent regulator. If I ask the Minister a third time, might
it be third time lucky?
of Whitley Bay (Con)
I may disappoint the noble Lord by repeating that we are looking
at that and all the recommendations that and the fan-led review made.
He should not read anything more into it than that we are taking
the time to give those complex recommendations the thought and
attention they deserve, and the White Paper will provide the
answers to his question.
