§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of measures to deal with soccer-related crowd problems on other major spectator team sports. [3103]
§ Mr. MichaelThe measures taken to deal with crowd disorder in football have been specific to football. These include controls on the sale and possession of alcohol under the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985; the exclusion order scheme under Part IV of the Public Order Act 1986; the restriction order scheme under Part II of the Football Spectators Act 1989; and the creation of four football specific offences under the Football (Offences) Act 1991 and section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
The police have other powers which apply at all sports. In particular, the 1986 Public Order Act enables the police to take action against a broad range of disorderly behaviour. There are also powers to deal with vandalism, damage to property and assault.
If there is evidence from the police that the problem of crowd disorder has become more widespread and is having a significant impact on other sports, we will review the need for further measures.