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Local Government and Regeneration Committee 18 March 2015

18 Mar 2015 · S4 · Local Government and Regeneration Committee

Item of business

Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Johnstone, Alison Green Lothian Watch on SPTV

I thank the committee for its time today, and I thank the convener for agreeing that this important issue should be considered at stage 2. I know that you have a lot of amendments to cover, so I will keep this summary brief. I will explain the purpose and rationale first, and I will then quickly summarise the practical operation of the amendments in the group. The problem that I am asking Parliament to fix is straightforward, and it should be obvious to everyone. Football has been dragged from the back pages of Scotland’s newspapers to the front pages by a series of catastrophic failures, from those of small clubs such as Gretna to those of clubs at the very top, such as Hearts and Rangers. The current model of ownership has failed. We know from examples both in Scotland and elsewhere that fan ownership works, and that fans will obviously be the people with the long-term interests of their clubs closest to their hearts. However, it is hard for fans to assemble the money and an appropriate structure without a right to buy. My proposals would not force fans to buy—in fact, there would still be substantial hurdles to doing so—but would mean that, if a well-organised fans trust had the support of the fans, it could secure first right of refusal if the club was being sold anyway or if, like so many clubs recently, it fell into administration. That is the base proposal, the key structural elements of which are covered in amendments 1231 to 1238 and 1240 to 1248. Amendment 1239, on which members may wish to vote separately, would mean that the right to buy would apply at any time, giving fans trusts with clear backing from supporters the ability to make a bid for their club. This is how that would work. First, a trust would express an interest in the purchase of its club, and it would seek to be on the public register of fans trusts. Ministers can reject an application if it is not clear that the trust is predominantly composed of fans of the club, if the trust is not open to join at an affordable rate or if it is not clear that members of the trust are sufficiently supportive of a bid to buy the club. There is also a general public interest test. If their expression of interest is accepted, fans are assured preferred bidder status for their club if it comes up for sale or goes into administration. Again, that must be approved both by a vote of the trust and by Scottish ministers. If my second proposal—amendment 1239—is accepted, the trust would be able to buy the club, either for an agreed price or following an independent valuation, at any time. In cases where more than one trust applies to buy a particular club, only one may be permitted to proceed. In most cases, that should encourage fans to bring different bodies together to support a bid, as has happened through the Foundation of Hearts. The base amendments also propose that trusts should be eligible to apply for funding from the Scottish Government to assist with a purchase. It is not specified in the amendments, but my expectation is that that assistance would be likely to come in the form of loans or underwriting, rather than direct grants, especially if fans of larger clubs apply successfully. The last two provisions in the base amendments are to allow an appeal by an owner against the exercise of the right to buy, as required by the European convention on human rights, and an option to buy a smaller proportion of the shares in a club, particularly in cases where the trust cannot afford to buy the club outright. Every party represented around this table is on record as supporting fans, and there will never be a better opportunity to put fans in the driving seat of Scottish football. I urge all members to support my amendments. I move amendment 1231.

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Local Government and Regeneration Committee 18 March 2015

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