PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (Women’s Finalissima Football Match) Regulations 2023 - 22 March 2023 (Commons/General Committees)

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (Women’s Finalissima Football Match) Regulations 2023.

May I say what a pleasure it is to appear before you today, Mrs Murray, especially because I know that, as president of Liskeard girls football club, you have a particular interest in ensuring that we do everything we can to make the Finalissima festival, or contest, at Wembley stadium on 6 April as enjoyable as possible, and particularly that we cheer on our Lionesses? This Committee is today making footballing history by helping UEFA and its counterparts in South America to host the women’s Finalissima football match at Wembley stadium on 6 April, when the recently crowned European women’s champions—namely, our very own England Lionesses—will play their Copa América counterparts, Brazil.

This statutory instrument enables an income tax exemption for accredited overseas individuals who participate in the women’s Finalissima football match. The exemption will apply to any UK income that an accredited individual receives playing matches in the tournament or for duties and services performed in connection with the match. This is an opportunity not only for the Lionesses to showcase their talents in front of a sold-out Wembley stadium and a worldwide audience, but for us to ensure that women’s football is treated equally with men’s football—something in which we all believe. These measures very much follow the framework that was set up, for example, for the athletes and others taking part in the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games, the UEFA men’s and women’s Euro championships in 2021 and 2022, various UEFA champions league finals, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth games and the 2017 World Athletics championships.

The draft regulations make use of powers that were introduced in the Finance Act 2014, providing a tax exemption through secondary legislation. I hope the entire Committee gets behind this instrument: help us to help them with their tax affairs, so that the players and those who support them can concentrate on a great game of football at Wembley on 6 April.

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Murray. As we have heard from the Minister, the regulations seek to remove the income tax liability for accredited persons who are non-resident in the UK for performance of their duties or services in the UK in connection with the women’s—I cannot say this very well—

Finalissima!

Yes—hopefully Hansard will correct that for me. The Finalissima 2023 will be held here on 6 April. As the statutory instrument sets out, the tax exemption will be available from the period of 2 to 7 April. As well as being non-resident, beneficiaries of the tax relief must work for or be contracted by one of the sporting bodies, teams or clubs competing in the competition. The Opposition will not oppose the statutory instrument, as it is standard practice with world-class sporting events for the host nation to provide certain tax exemptions, not least to avoid the risk of double taxation in the UK and the home nation of the accredited person. We believe it is important that the UK is seen as an attractive place to host major cultural and sporting occasions, as it has done successfully so many times in the past.

If you will allow me, Mrs Murray, I would like to place on record how pleased I am that the competition will be hosted only a stone’s throw from my constituency. As it is only a short journey from Ealing North to Wembley stadium, I am sure that many of my constituents will be eager to attend the match. I would be grateful if the Minister could outline what measures will be taken to ensure that communities local to the competition will have a fair opportunity to purchase tickets. My constituency has another close connection with our women’s national football team: one of its players, the brilliant Chloe Kelly, was raised in Hanwell. I am so glad to be able to quote the excellent deputy leader of Ealing Council, Councillor Deirdre Costigan, who announced that Ealing Council would like to offer Chloe

“Freedom of the Borough for her amazing achievements…we want to see many more young people achieve sporting greatness like Chloe.”

I wholeheartedly echo her comments.

The Opposition will not oppose the statutory instrument, and I am sure that the Minister will join me in wishing the Lionesses every success in the upcoming match.

Thank you for chairing this Committee, Mrs Murray. It has been a while since I have been on a Delegated Legislation Committee, so it is quite nice to come to one; I say that without any measure of sarcasm at all.

I—like many people, I am sure—spend a good chunk of my Sundays standing at the side of a football pitch watching my daughter play football, so it is really good to see the women’s game being treated with parity alongside the men’s game. It is also incredibly good to hear that this game is sold out, because although we are trying to improve access to the games, we do not see stadiums as full for some women’s games as we do for the men’s. Teams like the Lionesses and the Scotland women’s team have done a great job of popularising the sport for people to watch, and it is quite nice that in Scotland people can watch a chunk of the women’s football on the excellent BBC Alba. I pitched to the BBC recently that it should keep this custom up, because it is improving access to the women’s game.

Particularly for young people playing sport, men’s football has sometimes seemed pretty inaccessible and quite far away, whereas the pathways in the women’s game are much clearer and more obvious; people can look at Scotland players and at the Lionesses and think, “I could be that one day” in a way that they may find more difficult to do with the men’s game. Like the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Ealing North, I am more than happy not to oppose this statutory instrument. It is a sensible measure and I hope the event is a big success.

I hope, Mrs Murray, that Hansard reflects your energy and enthusiasm—and notes your enthusiasm for your local girls’ team.

I want to make a couple of points. First, I must of course place on record my gratitude to my very dear hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford, who does so much for football and contributes to the cause of women’s football by playing quite a lot, as I am sure others here do too.

Although I want to help the hon. Member for Ealing North, I am afraid that the popularity of the match means that it is sold out, but his local economy will benefit—everybody would expect me to bring a Treasury perspective to this debate—by about £50 million from events staged at Wembley, including this one. Wider London receives a £161 million boost from such events, and even outside London there is a further £80 million boost to our economy. I also understand that UEFA and the FA work with local councils to ensure that local communities get the best benefit and most enjoyment possible from this wonderful event.

I am extremely grateful for support from Scotland, and I am sure that on 6 April we will see exactly what the hon. Member for Aberdeen North described: a packed stadium with lots of women and girls, I hope, enjoying the match—alongside male fans as well. I really hope that the Lionesses beat the Brazilian team. I say that with great professionalism and in my ministerial capacity, and I am sure it is in line with the code of conduct; anyway, I hope the Lionesses beat them! I commend the regulations to the Committee.