Contributions
578 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I disagree. As I have said, we are here today to set the guidance for what we think is an appropriate level of pay. We believe that fans on the street will think that this…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I understand the point that the hon. Member is trying to make. We have had lots of attempts at muddying the waters today, but it is Government Members who will have to explain to…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)There is no equivalent to the football regulator. It is the first of its kind. We cannot argue to fans that it is unique and everything else, but then say that it is the same as…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Well, we will see. All jokes aside, I agree with my hon. Friend’s point. It would be highly unlikely and deeply unpopular if any member—or especially all of them—of that regulator…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I disagree with the hon. Member’s interpretation. It is quite commonplace for the chief executive to be the highest paid member of staff in most organisations. In my experience,…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I am happy to answer that question, because I believe the figure should be considerably underneath that rate. The amendment would allow pay to go up to the cap, but I am not…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)No, absolutely not. The hon. Gentleman actually makes the point that I have made already, because we believe that Parliament should have a say on what the regulator looks like in…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I beg to move amendment 120, in schedule 2, page 89, line 9, leave out subparagraph (3) and insert— “(3) The IFR may pay a person appointed as the Chief Executive no more than…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. The amendment is about the headcount, and he asked the Government, who oppose the amendment, what assumptions they have made for the…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I have listened very carefully to contributions from hon. Members on both sides of the Committee and to the answers provided by the Minister. I am concerned that the Government…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The Minister referred to an impact assessment based on the previous Bill. Given that there are changes in this Bill, will a new assessment with estimated costs be published for…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I am sorry to jump in—I am a bit keen. The point that the hon. Member for Rushcliffe makes supports the point that we have made throughout. The political argument that the…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. My argument, which I believe he is making too, is that hon. Members should have a say in what the regulator looks like, both now and in…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)My hon. Friend is making a very strong argument. The other point that we are trying to make is that the other established bodies of football are still in place and doing other…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)We will come to the distribution of media rights and so on, to which the hon. Lady referred, but that is separate from the problem that we are talking about, which is that if the…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The hon. Lady is missing the point of what I said. By adding tens of millions of pounds, which I suspect will end up being the cost of the regulator—the Minister will be able to…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)If we follow that train of thought and bring it back to what we have been talking about today, which is a regulator, does the hon. Member believe that such a hands-off approach to…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I am happy to answer that question. I think it is quite clear. The comparison is drawn and it is argued that this is the same regulator as before, but it is not. We clearly have…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The structure of the regulator is addressed elsewhere in the Bill, so I will not drift too much because I have already been yellow carded by the Chair, to use a football term.…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFootball Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I am slightly confused. The hon. Member for Dartford is telling me that we should not dictate how the regulator works and how it manages staff, and the hon. Member for Rushcliffe…03 Jun 2025