§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by division those football clubs which do not meet the requirements of the Taylor report together with the length of time dispensation has been granted and the target date for meeting the requirements. [26527]
§ Mr. SproatOf the recommendations of the Taylor report which were implemented by the Government, the only outstanding requirement which needs to be met by clubs relates to all-seater stadiums. In the premier league 623W Bolton do not meet the all-seater requirement and in the first division Stoke City, Port Vale, Reading, Sunderland and Portsmouth do not meet the requirement.
The report recommended that clubs in the FA premier league and the division one of the football league should become all-seater by the start of the 1994 season. However, the Secretary of State is empowered to extend by one year at a time the date for clubs to meet the requirement following consultation with the Football Licensing Authority, which in turn consult the relevant local authorities. Sunderland and Portsmouth have been given two one-year extensions and have until the start of the 1996 season to comply.
Clubs also have three years from the date of their promotion to the first division to develop all-seater stadiums. Consequently, Stoke City and Bolton were promoted in 1993, have until the start of the 1996 season to meet the requirements; and Port Vale and Reading, which were promoted in 1994, have until the start of the 1997 season.