asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What steps they are taking to improve facilities for disabled supporters at sports stadia.

My Lords, the Government have set out clear standards for the provision of disabled spectators’ facilities. To assist stadium owners and management to deliver an experience for disabled supporters that is equal to that of their able-bodied counterparts, we have produced the Accessible Stadia guidance in consultation with the National Association of Disabled Supporters. The Minister for Sport has recently written to the Premier League and the Football League reminding them of their responsibilities in this area.

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. I declare an interest as the vice-president of the National Association of Disabled Supporters and as one of the authors of the football task force report that recommended almost 10 years ago significant improvements in the facilities available for disabled people at football grounds. My noble friend referred to the excellent letter that the Minister for Sport has written to the football bodies, drawing attention to how much still needs to be done. What replies have been received from those two organisations, and what does he think needs to be done to ensure that the Accessible Stadia guidance is followed in football and other sports stadiums around the country?

My Lords, the Minister for Sport has taken the opportunity of his meetings with the chair of the Football Association and officials of the Premier League and the Football League to emphasise these issues. We should pay tribute to the improvement that has been effected over the last decade. It is reckoned that now 30,000 disabled supporters attend football grounds each weekend, and we have in Wembley Stadium not only one of the finest stadia in the world but one that is an absolute example of how to treat disabled supporters on the same basis as their more able-bodied counterparts. So we are making considerable progress, and that is also true of the planning for the Olympic Games.

My Lords, is the Minister aware that many people with profound and multiple disabilities are avid sports watchers just like their non-disabled peers? Unfortunately, the disability toilets available at grounds are now not suitable for such disabled people. Will he therefore use his best endeavours to ensure that stadia will install for those disabled people toilets that include a changing bench, a hoist and space, so that they can enjoy the football, or whatever other sports activity it is, just like the rest of us?

My Lords, the Accessible Stadia guidance, which is the document recommended by the governing bodies of sports to encourage the development of facilities for the disabled, contains the aspects that the noble Lord identified. It is clear that disabled supporters need all the facilities that others would want. I cannot pretend that we have 100 per cent coverage, because we are a long way off that with regard to football stadia and many other sports stadia. However, all sports are making great progress. Twickenham is an example in rugby; the Oval cricket ground and the Rose Bowl in Hampshire are also examples. As I mentioned, Wembley Stadium is an outstanding illustration of how to consider the needs of the disabled.

My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that the defence of reasonableness is placed in all disability legislation? That defence means that you must do what is reasonably practicable at the time. If the sporting bodies are not fulfilling that, will the Government ensure that in every way those bodies are dealt with as harshly as someone else who is not complying with the duty of reasonableness?

Indeed so, my Lords. We all recognise that there have been significant adjustments throughout society to the needs of the disabled consequent on legislation that has now been in place for more than a decade but which many noble Lords will regard as having been long overdue. Of course, one has to shift attitudes in society, but I think that on all sides we recognise that progress is being made. To give one illustration of a sporting event, the disabled marathon race is watched with at least the same degree of enthusiasm and excitement as the marathon race itself in London. That is an example of integration of the disabled into the true sporting arena.

My Lords, I declare an interest as chairman of Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club. I invite my noble friend to visit our stadium, the Halliwell Jones, where he will see disability facilities second to none, where people with disabilities are not separated from their friends but can sit with them and where commentaries are available for those whose eyesight is not too good. The reason for that is that the personal adviser is not only disabled himself but a consultant on disability. Would it not be a good thing to urge people when improving disability facilities at stadiums to seek the advice of people with such knowledge of disability?

My Lords, I mentioned a number of significant sports but not Rugby League, as I saw that my noble friend was in his place and knew that the opportunity would occur later. Of course he is right: the Halliwell stadium in Warrington is an outstanding illustration of a stadium that caters well for the disabled. He is also right to say that others can learn from the experience of the work that has been done. It is important that sports’ leading bodies take the initiative on this, which is why the Minister for Sport wrote to the Premier League and the Football Association reminding them in particular of the progress that they need to continue to make.

My Lords, can the Minister assure us that all the venues for the London Olympics will be fully available for people with disability? That means not just stadia but stands and open spaces. Surely we want to ensure that all those venues are fully available and can be enjoyed by everyone.

My Lords, the House will appreciate that the Olympic Games also include the Paralympics, so it would be extraordinary if the Olympic movement was not certain that disabled supporters and spectators were catered for adequately. I assure the House that, in the plans for the Olympic Games, the interests of disabled supporters will be very much to the fore. That is the basis of the planning of the stadia.