Thursday Volume 640 10 May 2018 No. 136 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 10 May 2018 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2018 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 869 10 MAY 2018 870 Mr Speaker: I rather imagine the Minister will be House of Commons visiting the school very soon—just a hunch. We will see. Thursday 10 May 2018 Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): We need to try to reach disabled people in rural communities, too. What does the Minister hope to do to reach out to people in The House met at half-past Nine o’clock special needs schools, people with disabilities and veterans? PRAYERS Tracey Crouch: Along with the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work and the Under-Secretary of [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] State for Education, the hon. Member for Stratford-on- Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), I am passionate about ensuring that all children have access to meaningful physical BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS activity at school. We provide funding—through the school games programme, for example—to ensure that NEW WRIT we provide opportunities for disabled pupils and those Ordered, with SEN to participate. There is also additional funding That the Speaker do issue his Warrant to the Clerk of the through the primary PE and sport premium. Through Crown to make out a new Writ for the electing of a Member to the DFE, we have funded the Project Ability programme serve in this present Parliament for the Borough constituency of Lewisham East in the room of Heidi Alexander, who since her since 2011 to increase competitive sport opportunities election for the said Borough constituency has been appointed to for young disabled people. the Office of Steward and Bailiff of Her Majesty’s Manor of Northstead in the County of York.—(Mr Nicholas Brown.) Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean) (Con): The Minister will be aware that there are many talented athletes with learning disabilities who have ambitions to represent Oral Answers to Questions their country in international competitions, but there are still many barriers stopping them from doing so. Will she agree to meet me, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on learning disability, to see what DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT more the Government can do to remove some of those barriers and allow those athletes to fulfil their aspirations? The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was asked— Tracey Crouch: My right hon. Friend has done a lot Sport Funding: Special Needs Schools of work on setting up the new all-party parliamentary group on learning disability, and I am happy to meet 1. Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con): What him to discuss this. recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on funding for sport in special Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): Some special needs schools. [905192] schools clearly have better sports provision than others. What is being done to roll out best practice across the The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, sector? Culture, Media and Sport (Tracey Crouch): The Government’s sport strategy sets the ambition that all Tracey Crouch: My hon. Friend is right, and I see the children, including those in special needs schools, should differences in my constituency—some schools really do have the opportunity to take part in meaningful physical ensure that pupils with disabilities participate in meaningful education and to lead healthy lives. The Department for PE. The Under-Secretary of State for Education, the Education leads on that, with support from me and the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work and I Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work. sit on the school sport board, and we discuss these matters regularly. Sir Nicholas Soames: Knowing my hon. Friend’s outstanding commitment to inclusivity in sport, is she Football: Safe Standing Areas aware of the work being done by the excellent Woodlands Meed School in Burgess Hill in my constituency? In a major reordering of its facilities, the school is seeking to 2. Dr Paul Williams (Stockton South) (Lab): What build a gym specially equipped to enable children who assessment his Department has made of the potential have serious disabilities to take part in extensive physical merits of introducing safe standing areas at football training. Does she agree that the gym could be a county- grounds in the English Premier League and Championship. wide facility? Will she see what she can do to investigate [905193] and help me raise the funds to enable Woodlands Meed and West Sussex County Council to go ahead with 11. Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op): producing this excellent facility? What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing safe standing areas at Tracey Crouch: I commend the work of my right hon. football grounds in the English Premier League and Friend, who has been a passionate supporter of Woodlands Championship. [905204] Meed. I am happy to meet him to discuss facilities funding for that school, which has an excellent reputation The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, for the work it does to support children with special Culture, Media and Sport (Tracey Crouch): The Government educational needs in his constituency. believe that all-seater stadiums are currently the best 871 Oral Answers 10 MAY 2018 Oral Answers 872 means of ensuring the safety and security of fans at Tracey Crouch: Enforcement powers are in place for designated football matches in England and Wales, but the SGSA, to ensure that we deal with persistent standing. we continue to work with the Sports Grounds Safety Addressing the safe standing issue would not necessarily Authority to consider advances in technology and data mean that persistent standing did not happen elsewhere that may enhance the existing policy. in the stadium, but we are looking at these issues. Clubs should remember that safe standing does not come Dr Williams: It is a buoyant time for football in without cost; as we have seen from Celtic Park, it can be Teesside, with Stockton Town in the final of the FA rather costly to clubs. vase and Middlesbrough in the Championship playoffs. Some 94% of Teesside football fans would like the Mr Speaker: On the subject of persistent standers, I choice of whether to sit or stand when they watch a call Mr Barry Sheerman. match, so what advice has the Minister taken from the SGSA about the safety of standing in seated areas? Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op): The House will not be surprised that I stand today after the Tracey Crouch: I regularly meet the SGSA to discuss magnificent result of Huddersfield’s draw with Chelsea, all matters of safety and I continue to listen to its meaning that we will not be relegated. Is the Minister advice. We are looking at ways in which we can consider aware that many of us have fought for years for family- advances in technology that do not require legislative friendly football and some of us have deep reservations change to see how we can deliver that. Having worked about standing areas, where there might be a lot of for one of the hon. Gentleman’s predecessors, albeit a young men, who like to shout, and sometimes shout long time ago, I know that many of his constituents are racist abuse—I am not saying all of them do. Dean Boro fans and of course Stockton Town fans. Not only Hoyle, the wonderful owner of Huddersfield Town, has do I wish Boro well in the playoffs this weekend, but I his reservations and so do I. wish to thank the Middlesbrough Supporters Forum for its positive engagement in this debate. Tracey Crouch: As a Tottenham fan, may I also congratulate Huddersfield Town on holding Chelsea to Mr Sweeney: Celtic Park is one of the largest football a draw last night and helping us secure a Champions stadiums in the UK and lies a mere stone’s throw from League spot? The hon. Gentleman is right to say that my constituency. It is the only stadium in the UK there has been a significant change since the all-seater currently to be piloting a safe rail seating area, with stadium policy came in and that spectators have evolved, 3,000 places available for safe standing for the past two and we now have a much more family-friendly place for years. Will the Minister therefore consider visiting Celtic people to go to watch football. That is not to say that we Park to assess the merits of that scheme, which has been are not looking at ways in which we can accommodate a great success for the past two years, and look at how it those who do wish to stand, but we do not have any could benefit other stadiums in the UK? plans at this moment to change the legislation. Tracey Crouch: I had the good fortune of bumping Channel 4 Relocation into a senior member of Celtic in Parliament earlier this week and we had a brief discussion on Celtic. Both my officials and those from the SGSA have already visited 3. Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP): the rail seating area at Celtic to see it in operation. It has What recent discussions he has had with Channel 4 on not been without its problems and has been closed twice its potential relocation outside London. [905194] already during the last season because of fan behaviour, but we continue to look at the development of rail The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and seating at Celtic.