Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Lab)

My Lords, this amendment tries to probe what might happen and what protections there may be in cases of conflicts of interest in respect of members of either the board or the expert panel. My noble friend Lord Bassam and I have tried to be somewhat specific in our amendments about where conflicts of interest might apply. We have talked about consultants and organisations that might derive half of their income from one of the organisations that might be involved in a competition. I hope that that can lead the Minister to talk about some of the difficulties that might arise if we do not get the right people in these positions working with the regulator. It is extremely important that anybody in this capacity is independent. We do not expect them not to have any interest in football but we do expect them not to have any financial interest that might at some stage create a conflict. If anybody is employed by a club or an organisation that is dependent on money from one of the leagues then difficulties could arise. Given the framework that has been established, which could be very robust and could help the regulator very clearly, we need to make sure that there are not conflicts of interest that could cut across this new regime.