Hansard

I, too, thank the minister for advance engagement on the bill, and I also thank the clerks and witnesses who supported the work of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. My fellow members of that committee are probably fairly familiar with the slightly glazed expression that comes over my face when the pre-meeting football banter begins just before 8.30 every Thursday morning, so I am sure that they understand precisely the level of enthusiasm that I bring to this afternoon’s debate.

The bill is a largely technical set of measures relating to the regulation of ticket sales, ticket touting and street trading during the event. On most of that technical content, there is a fairly reasonable degree of consensus across the chamber.

I was pleased that the bill, as introduced, incorporated in advance some of the amendments that my colleague Ross Greer moved during the passage of the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020, which sought to achieve more clarity around the use of enforcement powers, and to address the concerns about trading breaches in event zones. I do not have great concerns at the moment about how those enforcement powers are framed in the bill, but it will be important that MSPs and others are vigilant about how they are used in practice. That is why it is good that the bill also includes a requirement for the Government to report on the operation and effectiveness of the act after the games have taken place.

The bill sets out protections for large corporate sponsors, and it has been acknowledged that that is a requirement in order for UEFA to hold its event here. However, it is hugely important that civil liberties—rather than just corporate interests—are protected, and that any restrictions are targeted at commercial activity, not at legitimate protest by citizens. I recognise that the minister, in answering that challenge, agreed with that principle and I hope that we will pay attention to that as the event unfolds.

I am pleased that council enforcement officers will be able to enter residences only by permission or with a warrant granted by a sheriff.

The most recent European championship was held in very different circumstances. The aspects of the bill that I have mentioned should allow us to effectively monitor the human rights impact of the legislation and the balance of enforcing powers between the police and council officers.

As Neil Bibby alluded to, football should not be seen as belonging to corporate sponsors and big business interests; it should belong to its fans. Beyond the civil rights protections, there is the issue of affordability. There are still concerns about the affordability of tickets and the proportion of tickets being allocated for corporate sponsors, due to their commercial interests, but the bill’s restrictions on ticket touting are legitimate. We have already seen world cup tickets being resold at hundreds or even thousands of times their initial sale prices. Football will not be a game for everyone if we allow a market that is based on price gouging in the extreme. There is action on that in the bill; perhaps we can go further.

In my closing speech, I will address some of the wider issues relating to the affordability of these events, which we can tackle outside the formal context of the bill.