HC Deb 09 November 1998 vol 319 cc9-10
8. Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley)

What assessment his Department has made of the resources needed to make all Premier and Nationwide football grounds all-seating. [57249]

The Minister for Sport (Mr. Tony Banks)

None. Clubs in the Football Association Premier league and the first division of the Football League were required to go all-seater by August 1994. Clubs newly promoted to the first division since that date have had three years from the date of their promotion to install seating at their grounds. Bury, Bradford City, Crewe Alexandra, Oxford United and Stockport County, which have all gained promotion to the first division since August 1994, are the only clubs in the top two divisions in England still to go all-seater. Bradford and Oxford have until August 1999 to do so, and the other three clubs have until August 2000.

Following the review of the all-seater policy in 1992, clubs outside the top two divisions have until August 1999 to ensure that any remaining terracing meets stringent safety requirements.

Mr. Pike

The Government last year were quick to extend the resources available to the Football Trust to enable it to play a major part in ensuring that we had the widest range of high-standard grounds in the world and high safety standards, which will be important in our 2006 world cup bid. However, many clubs in the lower divisions have severe financial problems. Will my hon. Friend give an assurance that the Football Trust will be able to continue that work, to ensure that every ground can provide the safest and best possible facilities for spectators?

Mr. Banks

I certainly want to encourage that development, because I appreciate that the grass roots of football in this country are becoming rather dry. There is a great deal of money sloshing around in football, but it is not filtering down far enough. That is essentially a matter for the football authorities, but I can assure my hon. Friend that anything that I and the Government can do to induce them to bring about a more equitable distribution of that money throughout football we will do with great enthusiasm.

We allocated an extra £55 million funding package for the Football Trust almost as soon as we came to office. I am delighted that Burnley has received more than £3 million worth of grant aid from the Football Trust since 1990. We want to make sure that the best standards apply throughout our grounds, and I will look sympathetically at any proposal to ensure that the work of the Football Trust goes on to enable that to happen.

Mr. John Greenway (Ryedale)

I welcome what the Minister said, and share the concern of the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike). The second and third division clubs—as the Minister knows, I am the president of York City—simply do not have the resources to build all-seater stadiums, even if we could get planning consent.

As the question is about resources, does the Minister agree with the comments made recently to all Members of Parliament in a letter from the chief executive of the Football League, Mr. Richard Scudamore—that the continuation of the current BSkyB television deal is essential for the money to filter down into the second and third division clubs? If that changes, what pressure can the Minister and his Department bring to bear on the Premier league to ensure a substitution for that funding if we end up with a pay-per-view deal?

Mr. Banks

The hon. Gentleman tries to take me into other areas, which are dealt with by competition Ministers.

There are a number of things happening in football and in sport generally that alarm me. There is a knock-on effect from decisions in other areas, nationally and, much more significantly, through the European Union. That is why I personally—this is not Government policy—have been strongly in favour of considering some special regime for sport, which would not make it separate from European law or national law, but would recognise the particular interests and problems of sport in serving a local community. That applies particularly to Football League clubs in cities such as York or Chester, where there is a terrible problem about which supporters are coming to lobby the House on Wednesday.

The hon. Gentleman can be certain that the Government will do all we can to ensure that football remains vibrant and active at the level where it really matters—at the grass roots in places such as Chester and York.