Speeches by French.

“Clause 33 places a duty on clubs to notify the Government’s new regulator of any change in circumstances relating to the current owner or an officer that could impact their suitability under the regime set out in part 4 of the Bill. On one level, it is an understandable provision. To fulfil its statutory duties, the re…”

“I beg to move amendment 107, in clause 22, page 14, line 35, leave out subsection (a). This amendment prevents the IFR from being able to set licence conditions relating to internal controls.”

“I am not sure what to say about that, but the hon. Member can have his say when the Committee votes on the matter shortly. He has stated his belief. In recent years, we have seen clubs wade into contentious debates, sometimes with noble intentions, without any formal engagement with their supporter base. Whether we are…”

“I am going to try to make some progress.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for putting it very poetically. He talks about the spirit of football. I am not sure how many last-minute winners Chelsea have scored over the years, but he might have misbehaved on the terraces with joy and jubilation when it has happened. His description was much nicer than calling it the VAR a…”

“I beg to move amendment 131, in schedule 5, page 103, line 16, at end insert— “Agents fees 11A (1) An agents fees condition is a condition requiring a club employing an agent to cap their fees. (2) The agents fee cap will be set by Regulations subject to approval by both Houses.” My amendment proposes that clubs regula…”

“I beg to move amendment 112, in schedule 4, page 99, line 34, leave out “crest” and insert “badge.” My amendment raises a point that may seem technical, but I believe it is important if the Bill is to respect the history and traditions of our great national game. There is reference in the proposed legislation to the “c…”

“If the Minister could outline that further, it would be really helpful. At the end of the day, we are keen to ensure that there is no confusion in the regulations for clubs, nor any duplication of purpose for the regulator. We would like to understand how that will work in practice, and I would appreciate that in writi…”

“We are not suggesting a referendum. We are saying that fans should be involved in the decision-making process. There is a debate around Pride and other issues, but that is not the point we are trying to make. We are trying to make sure that football clubs, wherever possible, stick to the game and that fans have a say. …”

“I beg to move amendment 137, in schedule 5, page 102, line 2, at end insert “including the club’s official charity.” This amendment would make clear that the activities of a football club’s official charity can be counted towards it meeting the corporate governance code. It is a pleasure to speak in favour of the amend…”

“I appreciate the Minister’s comments about proportionality; we will look to review that as the Bill goes forward. One question I have is about how the regulator will interact with the existing rules. The most obvious ones that come to mind are the financial fair play rules that are already in existence in the Premier L…”

“I appreciate the point that the hon. Lady makes. I am not aware of the financial example that she gives—genuinely I am not—so it would not be appropriate for me to comment, but the crossover between politics and football is one that we have to acknowledge, regardless of party allegiance. The vast majority of fans, when…”

“I appreciate the Minister committing to that. The example just mentioned by the hon. Member for Derby South needs fleshing out as well, because clubs get into financial difficulty as a matter of course; points are therefore deducted mid-season, as we have seen, or, in the worst cases, the club goes into administration.…”

“I am happy to answer that with a simple yes. They should have been consulted. To date, 27 clubs have engaged with PLEDIS, and 18 have achieved the advanced level. Clubs such as West Ham United have demonstrated genuine leadership by embedding EDI principles deep within their organisation over multiple years without the…”

“One of the points we were slightly unclear about when we had the discussion of provisional licences before was what would happen if a club decided it did not want to apply for a provisional licence. There are several clubs that are very publicly concerned about the regulator. What would happen if they were to form, say…”

“Yes, okay.”

“I beg to move amendment 106, in clause 19, page 13, line 19, at end insert— “(c) inviting the club to make representations about the proposed revocation, and (d) specifying the means by which, and the period within which, such representations must be made, which must be a period of not less than one month beginning wit…”

“I have a lot of sympathy for the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Sheffield South East. The Minister argues that this does not need to be addressed through the regulator, but will guidance be published for those fan groups who are keen to ensure the long-term future of their grounds? What guidance will be publis…”

“The hon. Lady’s comments are on the record, and I will have a look—I was not aware of those.”

“I completely appreciate the hon. Member’s point. As he highlighted, clubs have done a lot of this good work themselves, so I do not believe that the Government or their regulator need to dictate on terms where clubs have that good practice already. My new clause tries to draw a line so that fans will have a say on any …”