Government will continue to look at standing issue

This week in Parliament the Government was questioned about standing at football but reiterated that it does “not have any plans at this moment to change” all-seater legislation.

Thursday’s discussion in the House of Commons followed a question submitted by Stockton MP Dr Paul Williams, asking the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for its assessment of dual-purpose seating & standing technologies.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said: “The Government believe that all-seater stadiums are currently the best means of ensuring the safety and security of fans at designated football matches in England and Wales.

“But we continue to work with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority to consider advances in technology and data that may enhance the existing policy.”

Crouch added that the Government had been considering advances in technology that “did not require legislative change” to allow their introduction.

Chair of the DCMS Select Committee Damian Collins also asked the minister if she believed a blanket ban on standing areas in the top two flights was appropriate or whether it was better for safety authorities and local authorities to judge on “case by case basis”.

The minister said: “There has been a significant change since the all-seater stadium policy came in and that spectators have evolved, and we now have a much more family-friendly place for people to go to watch football.

“That is not to say that we are not looking at ways in which we can accommodate those who do wish to stand, but we do not have any plans at this moment to change the legislation.”

A full Parliamentary debate on the issue is due to take place in the Commons on Monday 25th after a petition to Government passed 110,000 signatures.

Thanks to UK Parliament for the image used in this article. Reproduced here under Creative Commons license.