Leasehold Reform
Debate between Justin Madders and Clive Betts
Mr Betts
Absolutely. It is a complete scandal, and a number of developers have blatantly admitted that they sold on the property and did not tell the leaseholders what was being done. Ultimately, banning new houses from being built as leaseholds solves the problem, but immediately there ought to be a right of first refusal for leaseholders to buy their freehold at a clear and regulated price. The Law Commission is working on that issue, and we support that.
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)
On behalf of the National Leasehold Campaign, I congratulate the Chair of the Select Committee and its members on an excellent, comprehensive report. There is, I think, a sense of vindication among all those who have campaigned on this issue, not least myself, the National Leasehold Campaign, the hon. Member for Worthing West (Sir Peter Bottomley) and my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick), because the Committee has picked up on all the issues that were of great concern to us. When considering the report, I hope the Government will note that the Leasehold Reform Bill is still on the books, which would make the process of enfranchisement simple and easy. Did the Committee come to a view on the agreements that have been reached between some developers and leaseholders for changing the terms of their lease from ground rent doubling to RPI?
Mr Betts
We did consider that, and we said that although such voluntary agreements might be a step forward, they were not sufficient and they were not as good as our proposals to restrict leases on existing properties to 0.1% of the value, or £250. Legislation would overturn the current arrangement, and provide a better one for leaseholders.
Grassroots Football Funding: Wembley Stadium
Debate between Justin Madders and Clive Betts(5 years, 3 months ago)
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Justin Madders
My hon. Friend is right. As the shadow Sports Minister, she will know far more about the challenges than I do. When we compare our facilities with other countries, we are lagging behind. We have half the number of third generation pitches that Germany has and, shockingly, only one in three grass pitches are of adequate quality. Some 5 million playing opportunities were lost last year because of inadequate facilities. With the NHS struggling, schools facing a funding crisis, and the challenge of affordable housing, it is fair to say that we cannot expect the taxpayer to find the resources for this. However, as my hon. Friend said, there are huge opportunities for the grassroots in terms of the cash that is washing around the game.
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)
There are some really good examples. The Sheffield junior football league is the largest junior football league in Europe. The Isobel Bowler Sports Ground in my constituency is part of the Parklife project, funded by the FA and the Football Foundation. It has a great artificial pitch and a wonderful gym, where Disability Awareness with Sport runs facilities for disabled people. That is all wonderful and very positive—as is Mosborough rugby football club, where the Rugby Football Union has come in with support—but let us contrast the £300 million that local authorities spend on pitches in parks with the more than £200 million that the premier league’s clubs spent on agents’ fees alone in the last financial year. Is that not a contrast that we simply should not accept?
Justin Madders
I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution and for his excellent work with the parliamentary football club and with the Football Foundation. He is absolutely right about the cost: £200 million on agents’ fees, more than £1 billion in transfer fees every year now, and the direction of travel is only upwards. I know a levy operates at the moment on transfer fees, but a significant amount of that goes to players’ pensions and academies. There is nothing wrong with that, but that is for the professional side of the game and we are talking about the grassroots. I believe a small levy or a redistribution of existing funds could do an awful lot more for grassroots football.