23rd Report - Scrutiny of International Agreements: Council of Europe Convention on Sports Event Safety and Security 2023

The government welcomes the Committee's support for ratifying the Saint-Denis Convention and states that England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are "already fully compliant" with its requirements.

• On the delay in laying the treaty, the government "understands the need to lay treaties at the earliest opportunity after signature" and says the Covid pandemic prevented ratification being taken forward as soon as it would have liked.
• On contested security funding, the government says that, "in the event that funding for the security of major sporting events is contested", DCMS and the Home Office "would convene key stakeholders" to resolve the issues and secure a settlement.
• On the National Football Information Point, it states that the UK has a "long-established" one operating within the UK Football Policing Unit, rather than setting out plans to establish one.
• On stakeholder communication, the government "agrees that regular engagement with key stakeholders is important" and says it "already meets" the Convention's requirements. On the Explanatory Memorandum, it "recognises the importance of a detailed" one and sets out how the Convention builds on the 1985 Convention.

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