§ 29. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to improve safety provision and facilities generally at football grounds; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Denis HowellI am pleased to inform my hon. Friend that under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975, the administration of which is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Home Department and for Scotland, safety certificates have been issued by local authorities in respect of 27 football grounds in England and Wales and 12 in Scotland. Advice to local authorities and football clubs on crowd safety is given in an HMSO publication entitled "Guide to Safety of Sports Grounds", a copy of which is in the Library. Included in this advice is
£ million Planned expenditure (1) Planned expenditure plus announced changes (2) Estimated outturn (3) Column (3) less column (2) 1977–78 … … … … … 14,589 14,702 14,344 −354 1978–79 … … … … … 14,689 14,823 14,654 −169 More recent evidence on spending during 1978–79 suggests that the outturn may be £100 million to £150 million below the level shown in column (3).