Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness for that reply and for the recognition that the Government also want to see the growth of English football in non-financial ways such as she set out. I take the points she made about the drafting and the need for precision in this Bill, so I thank her for her engagement on that point as well. I congratulate my noble friends Lady Evans of Bowes Park and Lady Brady, in particular, who raised the issue of growth in Committee. As I say, I am glad that the Government have brought it forward, as it is consistent with what they are doing vis-à-vis many other regulators—so I am glad that we have the government amendment here. I am glad, too, for the recognition that the regulator and all who care about English football will be focused on prospective fans as well as current ones. This is more than just a preservation order being slapped on football; it is something to encourage its sustainability and growth. As my noble friend Lord Maude of Horsham said, it is welcome to see the change from some of the responses that we had in Committee. I thank the Sports Minister for the apology that she gave to my noble friend Lady Brady, following an article that she wrote in the Daily Mail. I think that that was appreciated by my noble friend and the others who were mentioned in it. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, for his lawyer’s point, which I take on board. I would have been very happy if the Minister had said that she would accept just proposed new subsection (1)—but I heard also what the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Sentamu, said. I proffered Amendment 1 in the spirit of compromise, but in the spirit of compromise I am happy to withdraw it and move on to other amendments.