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.

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.