§ Mr. PendryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will detail the total number of arrests within English and Welsh grounds during league and cup matches as a percentage of total attendances;
(2) if he will detail the arrests which took place at English and Welsh football matches during 1987–88 on the same basis as in the reply of the Secretary of State for Scotland to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) of 13 January,Official Report, columns 785–86;
(3) if he will arrange for the statistics of arrests within English and Welsh football grounds to be compiled on the same basis as those for Scotland.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 19 January 1989]The available figures for arrests at matches in England and Wales do not distinguish between those made in and near the grounds; and they relate only to Football League matches. For these I refer the hon. Member to the reply by354W my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport on 19 December to a question from the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) at columns 55–58. The total number of arrests as a percentage of those attending Football League matches in England and Wales during the 1987–88 season was 0.03. I do not propose to ask the Association of Chief Police Officers to change the basis of their collection of statistics. It would result in the loss of comparative data for earlier seasons and exclude arrests directly connected with matches where they did not occur within the confines of grounds.