HC Deb 25 November 1998 vol 321 c6W
Ms Ward

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what response he has made to the Football Task Force report into improving facilities for disabled supporters. [60871]

Mr. Banks

I fully support the practical recommendations made in the Task Force's report to improve access and facilities at football grounds for supporters with disabilities. I have written today to the bodies identified in the report as having a role to play in implementing the relevant recommendations.

There are several recommendations which are for Government to progress. These relate to amending the Approved Document (AD) for Part M of the Building Regulations to require all new stadia, new stands and extensions to existing facilities to provide wheelchair spaces in accordance with the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds; to drawing up a sliding scale for the numbers of designated seats for people who are ambulant disabled or visually/hearing impaired within new stands or stadia, and amending Part M accordingly; and to extending the future role of the Football Trust to improve disabled facilities at grounds.

Any changes to the Building Regulations require statutory consultation and will be based on the advice of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. The British Standards Institution have begun a comprehensive review of BS 5810 Code of practice for access for the disabled to buildings, and it is the intention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to use this standard and its supporting research, once it has been completed, as a basis for developing proposals through the Building Regulations Advisory Committee to revise the AD for Part M.

In the interim, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions have taken the opportunity to include references to the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds in the current revision to the Approved Document to extend Part M to new housing. This will draw the guidance to the attention of interested parties.

The review of BS 5810 includes access for the ambulant disabled and when the Green Guide is next updated the standard will be taken on board.

The Football Trust is an independent discretionary trust. Any decisions on its future role is a matter for the Trustees, in accordance with the Trust Deed.

The recommendations made by the Task Force provide an excellent assessment of what has been achieved in the provision of facilities for disabled supporters and where improvements can still be made. The Government are determined to maintain the momentum of progress, by, for example, the continuing implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.