Baroness Brady (Con)

My Lords, I offer support for the broad approach of the noble Lords led by the noble Lord, Lord Birt, who have tabled the amendments in this group. I do not agree with every element of the proposed new process, but I appreciate that this idea, to replace the current mechanism with a structured commercial arbitration process, would be a substantial improvement on the current flawed and high-risk process —a process designed largely by the previous Government and not a mechanism recommended by the fan-led review. I believe these amendments would deliver a better process for the EFL as well as for the Premier League—better for all of football—because they would make the backstop process more transparent, more predictable and therefore lower risk. In Committee, the noble Lord, Lord Birt, made an incisive and compelling case for change, as did the noble Lord, Lord Burns. He has done so again today, demonstrating the virtues of balance, nuance and good sense—all qualities that are excluded from the operation of the existing backstop process. The current backstop mechanism is fundamentally flawed. For example, the 28-day mediation process amounts to little more than mandating a conversation between parties, and of course then the parties have to go back and discuss those conversations with their clubs, which takes a lot longer than 28 days. It also creates no structure to identify areas of compromise, nor does it establish proper incentives for genuine negotiation. It does not even require both parties actually to make a proposal, so neither party’s position is flushed out. In practical terms, it means we might as well jut skip directly to the final decision. The current process will leave the expert panel examining two highly divergent proposals, which will come out of the blue, with no arguments properly aired ahead of that decision. By contrast, the amendment before us introduces significant advantages. First, the three-person panel, with two representatives selected by both the Premier League and the EFL alongside an independent chair, mirrors successful approaches used throughout football arbitration. Crucially, the same panel would make the final decision, having heard all the arguments throughout. Secondly, an extended 90-day arbitration period would allow for proper engagement rather than the perfunctory approach currently proposed. Thirdly, and crucially in my view, the requirement for structured offers to be put forward, scrutinised and then defined, introduces a dynamic entirely absent from the current model.