Lord Markham (Con)

My Lords, I have got up a number of times today to say that a particular amendment is not controversial and I hope it will be an easy one for the Minister to agree to. I have not been correct yet, because the Minister has not agreed to any, but I think that with this one I am on to a good thing. Everything that I am trying to do here is to make sure that what is written down in the Bill really does happen. To take the exact wording on the regulator’s regulatory principles, in a number of places it says that it “should” use its resources “in the most efficient, expedient and economic way”. We are saying no, it must. It “should”, as far as is reasonably practicable, “co-operate, and proactively and constructively engage” with clubs, owners and competition organisers. Again, we are saying no, it must. There can be lots of good intentions, and lots of times when you can say that someone should do something. My mum told me that I should eat my greens. I cannot say that I always did. In all these instances, it is about making sure that the wording that the Minister and her team put in the Bill means that things really do happen. Again, we suggest that the regulator “must” act in a way that “recognises the specific context of football and the fact that clubs are subject to rules, requirements and restrictions”; it “must” act consistently, “recognising the differences between clubs and competitions and the differences between the circumstances affecting clubs”; it “must” act in a way that “recognises the responsibilities of owners, senior managers and other officers of clubs in relation to the requirements placed on clubs under or by virtue of this Act”; and it “must” act “as transparently as reasonably practicable”. Again, we are just making sure that everything that the Minister has put down by way of the wording of Bill must happen, not just should happen. I think, this time, I am backing up exactly what the Minister would like to see happen. There are also a couple of other sensible amendments from others that fans should be consulted and engaged with in all this, which I also hope would get a resounding yes from the Minister. I look forward to hearing her response in terms of making sure that what she would like to happen really does happen. I beg to move.