Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the compliance by Premier League football clubs with regulations to facilitate access to their grounds for disabled people.

I 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 this autumn on whether clubs have met their pledge to meet a number of agreed measures to improve accessibility for disabled spectators. The measures include all clubs to achieve compliance with the Accessible Stadia guide by August 2017, and for all clubs to ensure the appropriate number of wheelchair bays are located in their away sections (10% of their home provision).

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 2010 Act, they will consider the use of their statutory powers in order to achieve compliance. All clubs failing to meet the minimum requirements were given a deadline of September to publish their plan of action and timetable for improvement or face an investigation. I support the EHRC's work to enforce the legislation and improve access for disabled people to sports grounds.