Licence fee reform consultation

In September 2023, we launched a consultation about changes to the fees charged for the annual SGSA licence to admit spectators. 

The proposal focused on moving away from the nominal fee of £100 which had been in place since the introduction of the licensing regime, to be a fee which reflects the SGSA’s cost of regulation.

During the six-week consultation, we received responses from 56 organisations, including 44 of the 93 grounds that are directly impacted by the changes to the licence fee. These have helped to form our recommendations to Government.

The final decision on any change rests with the Government.  The consultation report will help to inform its decisions.

Overview of findings

The SGSA has considered all of the feedback, and as a result has amended some of the recommendations to Government.  The consultation document outlines the full SGSA response, but in brief:

• The SGSA will recommend to Government that the new fee regime is based upon average attendance, using the declared attendance data over the previous two seasons.
• The SGSA has outlined proposals to help address the concerns around the timing of implementation, including changes to payment times, should the Government’s decision be to introduce the change as planned.
• The SGSA has expanded the principles to address the concerns raised by respondents.

The results laid out in the report have been provided to Government to help inform decision making.  Any changes to the SGSA licence fee, including the amount and the implementation timescales are solely a decision for Government.

Background

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) was commissioned by the SGSA to undertake a review and provide support to assist in creating a robust, proportionate and transparent funding model that reflects the full cost of regulation of the safety of football grounds in England and Wales. 

The Football Spectators Act 1989 was created to control the admission of spectators at designated football matches in England and Wales.  This is defined in the  Football Spectators (Designation of Football Matches in England and Wales) Order 2000 as matches taking place in international stadia and at Premier League / English Football League grounds.

Webinar

On 5 October 2023, the SGSA held a webinar to provide an overview of the proposals and to answer questions and comments from the industry.

The webinar can be viewed at anytime on demand.

A second webinar was held on 31 October,  which outlined the responses to date and the potential SGSA response to the points raised. Again, the webinar can be viewed at anytime on demand.