Lord Faulkner of Worcester tabled a question to the House of Lords asking what steps the Government is taking to ensure the Premier League fulfils its commitment that all of its clubs will comply with Accessible Stadia guidance by August 2017.
You can watch the answers and debate on Parliament TV below (from 11.28):
You can read the full Hansard transcript here
Key quotes from the session:Lord Faulkner of Worcester
“On 10 September 2015, partly in response to pressure from this House, the Premier League issued an unequivocal statement which said:
“All Premier League Clubs have agreed to make their stadiums compliant with the Accessible Stadia Guide by August 2017”.
This summer, Premier League clubs spent more than £1 billion on transfer payments for players and the league as a whole sold its television rights for a record £5.14 billion. That is more than £10 million a match. Can the Minister think of any possible reason why the clubs should miss the deadline they imposed on themselves, as clearly shortage of money is not a factor?”
Lord Addington
“My Lords, does the Minister agree that whatever happens now, the point at which we should be asking and suggesting has long since passed? We should actually be telling, and relying on an independent body to take legal action without government backing may not be sufficient to tell loudly enough?”
Lord Holmes of Richmond
“Best estimates demonstrate that probably more than one-third of clubs will still not be compliant with the guidance. Does the Minister agree that the Government and the EHRC should take another look at this because it may be the richest football league on the planet, but on disability access it is morally bankrupt?”
Baroness Gould of Potternewton
“I fully appreciate that it is important that Premier League clubs provide adequate facilities, but an awful lot of people watch other clubs as well that are not in the Premier League. We ought to encourage clubs in the other leagues to provide similar facilities.”
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Premier League and its clubs pledge to meet Accessible Stadia standards by August 2017
14.10.16