Professional Football (Hansard, 1 April 1996)

§ 1. Sir Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many professional football clubs she or Ministers in her Department have visited over the past 12 months to discuss the viability of professional football. [21892]

§ The Minister of State, Department of National Heritage (Mr. Iain Sproat)
My right hon. Friend and I have regular meetings with the governing bodies, and with 2 many other groups and individuals involved in football, to discuss matters of concern to football and have visited both professional and amateur football grounds.

§ Sir Teddy Taylor
Is the Minister aware of the remarkable success story of Southend United football club which, in co-operation with local authorities, has provided remarkable services to Southend's young people, but which, like other clubs, has a problem finding an alternative site for a massive redevelopment? I appreciate the enormous burdens on the Minister's time, but might it be possible for him to visit the successful Southend United football club and, in establishing priorities, to bear it in mind that, when I became the Member of Parliament, Southend United was at the foot of the fourth division and is now, happily, near the top of the first division and likely to go higher?

§ Mr. Sproat
I am aware that Southend United is seventh in the first division and that it has a splendid record in liaising with schools, as the document "Raising the Game" hoped would happen. Southend's liaison with schools is a model for many clubs. On Southend United's moving or relocating, I read in a newspaper about possible relocation to Fossets farm. I would be happy to learn more about that from my hon. Friend, either here or in Southend.

§ Mr. Grocott
Will the Minister consider the effect on professional football's finances of the huge disparity between the money available to the premier league, because of its television contracts, and the money available to the Endsleigh league's first, second and third divisions? The effect is that, generally speaking, it is much more profitable for a player to play, for example, for the second team of a premier league club than for the first team of an Endsleigh league first division club. It also means that, when clubs are promoted from the Endsleigh league first division, they always run the risk of being 3 rapidly relegated because they simply do not have the finances of premier league clubs. Is not that distorting the whole game? Is it not time that that was examined?

§ Mr. Sproat
The hon. Gentleman raises an important problem, but the tremendous increase in income to football clubs through television sports rights has affected matters dramatically in both the premier league and other leagues. The Football League has recently negotiated a contract worth about £125 million over the next four or five years. I hope that that will make a difference to the problems that the hon. Gentleman describes.

§ Mr. Hawkins
Does my hon. Friend agree that it is crucial that we ensure that school fields are available for school children who, in future, become interested in sports, including football? Does he further agree that it is important to condemn left-wing local authorities that have continued to seek to ban or to discourage competitive sports, and that we will see splendid successes, such as that being shown by Blackpool football club, currently top of division two after a splendid 1-0 win over Brentford on Saturday, only if plenty of school children have the opportunity to participate in football and other sports at school?

§ Mr. Sproat
On football and schools, I congratulate the football authorities on what they have done. Since we produced "Raising the Game" on 14 July, no other sport has done more to encourage sport in schools. For example, the Football League, Sportsmatch and Auto Windscreens have a new six-a-side competition in secondary schools and Coca-Cola has sponsored the schoolboy European championships. We have consulted on the fact that the Sports Council should be consulted before any school playing fields are sold. I agree with my hon. Friend, therefore, that much has to be done and that much has been done.

§ Mr. Pendry
Had the Minister visited more football clubs, he would know of the many concerns facing professional football. As one who has visited more clubs, may I assist him by asking him to take on board some of those concerns as addressed in our charter for football—which, as he knows, has been universally well received by the football world? One such concern is about a lack of co-operation between his Department and the Department of the Environment. The Minister really must get tougher with that Department and insist that planning policy must work in favour of relocation rather than against it.
Will the Minister also deal with the real problem of losses to pools companies as a result of the national lottery's impact, which is a major factor in the inability of some league clubs to meet the demands of the Taylor report? As I have accepted today an invitation to visit Southend United to hear its problems, why does not he join me there?

§ Mr. Sproat
On the hon. Gentleman's point about co-operation with the Department of the Environment, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State co-operates fully with it in all planning matters of that sort. On his point about a reduction in pools income, that is a serious problem that the Government met in the most recent Budget by increasing the money available to the Football 4 Trust by 0.5 per cent. As for Southend, I shall make my own arrangements to learn everything that needs to be learnt there.