Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the independence of the Word Anti-Doping Agency in terms of its (1) structure, (2) governance, and (3) protections against conflicts of interest.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation Board adopted a range of recommendations made by its Governance Working Group on 15 November 2018. The Government welcomes the changes adopted by WADA to strengthen its governance structures through greater independence and better protection against conflicts of interest. WADA must, however, must ensure that additional reforms, including strengthening the athlete voice, are considered by a new Working Group going forward.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what sanctions are in place for pre-meditated doping in professional sport; whether those sanctions are comparable to sanctions in place for fraud offences; and what assessment they have made of the sufficiency of such sanctions when used.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), an Arm's Length Body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) implements the UK’s Anti-Doping Policy, which in the most serious cases, and for repeat offences, can impose life-bans for Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV). There remains the opportunity, if evidence indicates, to work in partnership with law enforcement to investigate a case where a criminal offence may have been committed, and thus criminal sanctions may apply.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Russia has met all the criteria for re-compliance and re-entry into international sports competition as outlined in the McClaren Reports, The Independent Person Report, published on 18 July 2016, and The Independent Person 2nd Report, published on 9 December 2016, including acceptance of the condition that an institutional doping regime was operated at events including the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the requirement to allow access to the Moscow laboratory for (1) international inspection, and (2) the analysis of samples and electronic data.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
At its meeting on 20 September 2018, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee made a decision to reinstate RUSADA (Russia's Anti-Doping Agency), following a recommendation made by WADA's independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC).
WADA's decision to reinstate RUSADA is subject to two strict post-reinstatement conditions:
Athletes and fans having faith in clean sport is vitally important, and the UK Government remains fully committed to combating doping in sport and protecting the integrity of sport.
Should there be any failure to do so, we expect WADA to swiftly determine non-compliance under the relevant sanctioning provisions as set out under the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS).
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the decision made by the World Anti-Doping Agency Executive Committee in September to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
At its meeting on 20 September 2018, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee made a decision to reinstate RUSADA (Russia's Anti-Doping Agency), following a recommendation made by WADA's independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC).
WADA's decision to reinstate RUSADA is subject to two strict post-reinstatement conditions:
Athletes and fans having faith in clean sport is vitally important, and the UK Government remains fully committed to combating doping in sport and protecting the integrity of sport.
Should there be any failure to do so, we expect WADA to swiftly determine non-compliance under the relevant sanctioning provisions as set out under the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS).
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the statement by the Minister of State for Digital on 26 April (HC Deb, col 1125), what progress has been made to prohibit the use of bots to procure tickets for high demand sporting events and concerts.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We are determined to crackdown on unacceptable behaviour and improve fans’ chances of buying tickets at a reasonable price.
S.106 of the Digital Economy Act provides us with the power to create a specific offence, where tickets are purchased electronically, of purchasing more tickets than the maximum permitted. We have undertaken an informal consultation with over a hundred relevant organisations to help inform our implementation of this provision in the Act. We will shortly notify the European Commission and Member States of the proposed legislation which is in scope of the Technical Standards Directive’s three month notification process before looking to securing a legislative slot next year.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support an opt-out for sport from the General Data Protection Resolution Regulations (EU) 2016/679 which come into force on 25 May 2018; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those Regulations on (1) the anti-doping policies of UK Anti-Doping, and (2) powers required for effective governance of their sports by national governing bodies of sport.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The Data Protection Bill, which recently received its second reading, will create a modern legal framework for the UK, suitable for the digital age, incorporating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Bill allows the processing of sensitive and criminal conviction data in the absence of consent where justification exists, for example bodies responsible for the fight against doping in sport. We are working to ensure there are no unintended consequences contained in the Data Protection Bill which hamper the effective governance of sports by national governing bodies of sport and other relevant sports bodies.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the position taken by UK Anti-Doping in support of the letter signed by the National Anti-Doping Organisations in their call for Russia to be banned from the Winter Olympic Games to be held in PyeongChang 2018.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The letter underlines the need for Russia to meet all the conditions set by the World Anti-Doping Agency before they can, once again, be considered compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. As our National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), UK Anti-Doping is determined to ensure that British athletes compete on a clean, level playing field, that also includes all NADOs being compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost of converting the London Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from a football stadium to a venue meeting the requirements for an international track and field meet.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The London Stadium is owned and managed by E20 Stadium LLP, a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council. E20 Stadium LLP is responsible for the costs of the seat moves. As previously disclosed the cost of moving the seats had been budgeted at circa £8 million a year. The transition work first requires the seats to be moved backwards at the end of the football season to reveal the athletics track and bringing them forward at the end of the summer. The Mayor of London’s investigation into the London Stadium includes a review of options for reducing these costs in the future.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) HM Treasury, and (2) Lottery, funding has been committed to the proposed UK track and field event on 21 July 2018 between athletes from the UK and the US.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Neither the Government nor UK Sport has been approached to provide any level of financial support towards this event. Therefore no funding, either from HM Treasury or the lottery, has been committed.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
Her Majesty's Government whether they expect all Premier League football clubs to meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2006 to ensure that by August 2017 they will fully meet the standards set down by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as set out in the Accessible Stadia Guide updated in 2015; and if not, what action they intend to take.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligations under the Equality Act of 2010 so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues. We are expecting a final report from the Premier League on whether clubs have met the pledge on accessibility standards in August 2017.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act 2010. Following the EHRC’s call for evidence from Premier League clubs to assess their adherence to the terms of the Equality Act, if the EHRC suspect or believe that individual clubs are in breach of the Act 2010, they will consider the use of their statutory powers in order to achieve compliance. All clubs failing to meet the minimum requirements will have until September 2017 to publish their plan of action and timetable for improvement or face an investigation. We will support the EHRC in any action that they take against clubs and sports that are not fulfilling their legal duties towards disabled spectators.