§ 54. Mr. FallonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to seek to improve the standard of public order at Football League matches.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe maintenance of public order at Football League matches is the responsibility of the police, whose unremitting efforts have led to a significant improvement in crowd behaviour over the last two years. We have strengthened police powers through the controls on alcohol and the provisions of the Public Order Act 1986. On 1 August, part IV of that Act also gave the courts new powers to make an exclusion order against any person convicted of a football-related offence.
We are determined to make further progress, in partnership with the football authorities and the clubs themselves. The clubs are extending the use of closed-circuit television, which has played a major part in the improved behaviour at football grounds, and are being strongly encouraged to introduce effective membership card schemes. Progress is monitored by a working group chaired by my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport.