To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the prevalence of homophobic-related incidents at football grounds. (119105)

Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I has made any assessment of homophobic-related incidents at football grounds.

The FA has been working with the Premier League and Football League to make the necessary changes to ground regulations so that homophobic chanting is included on the list of ejectable offences from stadiums. I understand that these changes will take effect from the beginning of the 2007-08 season.

Football clubs are also active in other areas. I understand that clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur FC list a telephone hotline number for fans to report any instances of abuse in their matchday programmes. I welcome measures such as this and hope that all football clubs will follow suit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department provides for campaigns to prevent homophobia in football. (119108)

The Government have not provided funding for any specific projects to prevent homophobia in football.

However, Sport England has awarded £4 million to the Football Association to support delivery of the Football Whole Sport Plan over the four years 2005-09 and equity in football is one of the themes of this plan. The Equality Standard for Sport, launched in 2004, is being adopted by national governing bodies, including the Football Association. The standard requires NGBs to demonstrate that they are addressing inequalities and making their sports more accessible to under-represented individuals, groups and communities in order to achieve the levels of the standard.

The FA’s achievement of the preliminary level of the “Equality Standard: A Framework for Sport” is one of the conditions of its Whole Sport Plan award.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions she has met the Football Association to discuss action to be taken against homophobia in football. (119109)

Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I has met the Football Association to discuss tackling homophobia in football.

However, the Government believe that there is no place for homophobia in football or in wider society and we fully support the campaign being led by the Football Association against homophobic abuse in football in England.

Through its “Football For All” programme, the FA is publicly committed to making football inclusive and open to all and to eradicating homophobia in the sport through education, effective reporting structures and communication and awareness training.