Ivan: 0:03

Hello and welcome again to the Bench Report, where we discuss recent debates and briefings from the benches of the UK Parliament. A new topic every episode. You're listening to Amy and Ivan. Today we're looking at something that really hits the public purse. It's the cost of policing football matches. Uh, the government's quite concerned, rightly so perhaps, that taxpayers are footing a huge bill, we're talking tens of millions every year. It feels less like a policing cost sometimes and more like, well, a subsidy for private entertainment.

Amy: 0:32

That's exactly the tension, yes. So what we want to do today is look at the law, you know, how it currently works for these charges, then look at the actual money involved, the scale of this problem, and finally what solutions are being talked about uh in Westminster to try and fix it.

Ivan: 0:47

Okay, let's start with the legal side then. Why can't police forces just send the full bill to the football clubs for all the officers needed on match day?

Amy: 0:55

Well, it really hinges on one piece of legislation. Section 25 of the Police Act 1996. It basically says police can charge for what they call special police services, but and this is the crucial bit, only for services on land the club owns or leases.

Ivan: 1:11

So that usually means inside the stadium itself.

Amy: 1:14

Exactly, inside the turnstiles, effectively. Anything happening on, say, the public highway outside. That's different. And this was really cemented by a key court ruling back in 2017. It involved Ipswich Town Football Club. The Court of Appeal was very clear policing crowds on public roads, even if they're right outside the stadium, well, that's just considered a normal police duty, part of keeping the peace for everyone.

Ivan: 1:38

And the clubs can't be charged for that part.

Amy: 1:40

Correct. Not under the current law.

Ivan: 1:42

And I remember Lady Justice Gloucester said quite plainly, didn't she, that if this needs changing, it's up to Parliament to change the act, not the courts.

Amy: 1:50

Aaron Powell Precisely. It requires legislative change.

Ivan: 1:53

So given that legal restriction, what's the financial picture look like? What's the gap?

Amy: 1:57

Aaron Ross Powell Well, there isn't one single official data set covering everything. But we have some pretty solid recent figures. The UK Football Policing Unit reported for the 2023-24 season in England and Wales, the total cost came to uh 71.69 million.

Ivan: 2:14

71 million. Okay. And how much of that did the clubs actually pay back?

Amy: 2:18

Just 14.87 million.

Amy: 2:20

doing the math, that leaves the taxpayer covering what, 56, 57 million? 56.82 million pounds, yes, for just that one season in England and Wales. And just to show it's not a one-off, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, mentioned in July 2025 that the annual cost across the whole UK is usually around the $70 million mark.

Ivan: 2:40

That really does highlight the disparity. You've got Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who leads on football policing, basically arguing police are subsidizing a very wealthy industry. I mean, you see clubs spending hundreds of millions on players. It raises a pretty fundamental question about fairness, doesn't it?

Amy: 2:54

It absolutely does. And because of this big gap, there's been pressure for reform for quite some time. Way back in 2009, the Home Affairs Committee actually recommended that clubs should pay the full attributable cost.

Ivan: 3:07

But defining attributable seems tricky. How do you separate policing purely for the match from general public safety in the area?

Amy: 3:15

That is the challenge. And we saw different ideas surface in a Westminster Hall debate in 2019. One MP, Peter Aldous, argued for straightforward legislation. Let police charge for the policing immediately outside the grounds again. Basically, undo the effect of that Ipswich ruling.

Ivan: 3:31

Okay, a direct approach. What else was suggested?

Amy: 3:33

Well, MP Gilfurnus proposed something different, maybe a small levy, say 1%, on the massive football TV rights deals. The idea there is you get the money from the wealthiest part of the game without perhaps hitting smaller clubs quite so hard.

Ivan: 3:46

And what about now? Are the police leaders still pushing?

Amy: 3:48

Oh, very much so. Chief Constable Mark Roberts is actively calling for legislation. He says the current rules are just too weighted in the club's favor. He even suggested that full cost recovery could, in his words, free up funds for another 1,200 officers.

Ivan: 4:04

That's a significant number. And Sir Mark Rowley.

Amy: 4:07

He's framed it quite bluntly as needing a polluter pays approach. If an event creates the need for policing, it should contribute fairly to the cost.

Ivan: 4:16

So where does the government stand on this right now?

Amy: 4:19

Well, the latest position as of October 2025 came from the policing minister, Sarah Jones. She said the government is exploring ways to address this. But crucially, no actual legislative proposals have been brought forward yet. And you can imagine sporting bodies are getting a bit anxious about what might be coming down the track regarding higher charges. The Home Office itself kind of summed up the dilemma Parliament faces. They acknowledge the need to balance the cost to the public purse, you know, the taxpayer burden, but they also weigh that against the wider cultural and economic value these big sporting events bring.

Ivan: 4:51

That value is definitely there, but the costs are very specific and very large. It leaves a final thought for you, perhaps. If Parliament does change the law for football, what's the limiting principle? Could local authorities then start charging organizers for policing major concerts, festivals, maybe even large political demonstrations that require a significant police presence? Where does that line get drawn? As always, find us on social media at bench report UK. Get in touch with any topic important to you. Remember, politics is everyone's business. Take care.